Papillon Bleu, Red String of Fate
by The Cow-writer
Summary: A fateful encounter: two souls bound by the red string of fate. Watch your pinkies ladies and gentlemen. P3
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

_(Hello! A word from the cow-writer here. I am writing this with a friend, Tifastrifeinlove, so props to her for much of this. Firstly the disclaimer; we own nothing. Secondly; I like humour. It will exist throughout. But my friend Tifastrifeinlove is a little bit more on the dramatic side so hopefully we'll be able to present a good mix of both to you. The story will be told from differing perspectives depending on the chapter and there are only two OC's, this is not going to be OC centric all the time. Many chapters will be focused on the P3 characters but for the intention of introducing the OC's the prologue, first and second chapter will showcase the OC's a little bit more. Cheers guys.) _

"I think I'm lost."

The docks were close though. She could smell the drying fish. It was noon and there wasn't a cloud in the sky, not exactly a worrying setting. But still…The girl craned her neck up to look at the tops of the apartment buildings crowding into the narrow street. "This certainly doesn't look like the school."

"You lost, sweetheart?" He was tall and unwashed and nothing else about him seemed to strike her as important.

She blinked up at him and looked back at her map. She held out the map and pointed at a circled red spot "I'm not here. I need to be here."

He had yellow teeth too, she remarked, when he smiled. And a knife. Tall, unwashed, yellow teeth, and he was holding a knife. That's more important things than most people revealed about themselves in the space of two minutes. He ripped her map in two and waved the knife in her face, "You can scream, no one'll care."

Scream? The girl tried to decide whether or not this counted as presumptuous and didn't protest when the man grabbed her arm. Definitely presumptuous. "Hey…" She struggled abruptly and the knife he had been waving in front of her was accidentally sliced across her face, just beneath her eye.

"Hey!" She said more forcefully, feeling tears come to her eyes. "You _cut _me! What are you doing? I'm a kid! You can't cut kids with knives!"

"You cut your own damn face you brat! Tell ya what, I'm gonna rough you up a little. Got to teach you to stay outta here properly, that right? Then you go crying home to Mommy and Daddy but you don't mention it, or I'll rough you up proper. Got it?"

"Hey…" suddenly a teen who looked like a junior high student wearing a black beanie approached them. "Let her go, or do I need to beat your ass?"

The girl blinked, smiled widely. Here was her knight in shining armour! He was a little scrawny- the sort of look kids who hit their growth spurt and forgot to up their diet had. But he was cute. Give him a few years.

"Who do you think you are punk? Stay out of this!" The mugger shoved the girl enough to make her stumble. He rounded on the teen and brandished the knife in front of him threateningly.

"Look out!" The girl gasped, reaching out to hold the mugger back as she stumbled. Her eyes squeezed shut as her fingers closed on the air. She heard a loud 'oomf' and the sound of someone hitting the ground. She hoped it wasn't her knight.

"Hmph…Get bent." The teen spat at the kneeling mugger. Somehow he'd managed to wrench the knife away from him.

The mugger grabbed at his bleeding nose, glared up at the teen. He looked ready to tussle again but the sight of the knife in some one else's hand must have made him reconsider. "You're gonna regret this" he said through gritted teeth.

The teen feinted towards the mugger with the knife, scaring him into stumbling backwards against the pavement. As the mugger made off, swearing under his breath, the teen looked over at the girl and cringed on the inside.

"You _saved_ me!" She swooned as she walked closer to him. He shrugged and started to walk off but the girl called after him, "Wait!"

The teen put on his most obviously irritated expression before pointedly turning back and fixing her with blasé eyes. Un-phased the girl fairly skipped after him, "Can you tell me where Gekkoukan High School is?" she asked cheerfully. Did she not notice the blood on her cheek? At least she wasn't bawling.

The teen intensified his irritated look but sighed when it appeared to have no effect. "Gimme your map kid."

The girl blinked, looked back at the torn pieces of the map that had been discarded on the street. "Um… OK." She brought them back to him, brushing off the dust foot prints on them. She held the two separate, sagging pieces up in front of him.

The teen marked out the directions on the map, folded the two pieces together and handed them back to her. "Now, you gonna leave me alone?"

"No." The girl said, eyes gleaming, a big grin on her face.

"What the hell do you want from me?" he snapped.

"Just your name" she chirped.

He stared at her blankly. "Shinjiro…"

The girl smiled "Shinjiro, I'll remember that! The name of my saviour!"

"What?" he looked at her, blushing.

"I promise I'll find you again and repay my debt to you Shinjiro!" The girl smiled and went off to the school.

The teen was left standing there with a blank look. He sighed heavily. "What have I gotten myself into?" 


	2. Like Bébé! No relation

**Chapter 1  
**_Salut! I am French- like Bébé! ... No relation._

(_Disclaimer; We own nothing)_

"Hello friends! I am called Charla Boudreau and I am French! Just like Bébé, as I've said, but there is no biologic relation I will promise you. I am in Japan now for four years because my father he is a military man and we travel the world with him." I try to look cheerful for them and enthusiastic but I can see their bored faces staring up at me. Oh well. "I am new to Port Island last year though, because my parents they don't like me so they send me to live here with you! Hahaha!" Oh dear. They're not laughing.

"The people here are very nice and they are all stars! But we have celebrities here too. There's Mitsuru who…" Their attention is flagging. Why aren't they interested? I guess it's time for another tactic "HUGE BREASTS! Her chest is enormous!" That did it.

The boys, there are two, are both staring at me with interest now. I can predict that they will be having questions later. The girl is staring at me too but I think she must be stupid or something because her eyes are vacant.

"Yes, Mitsuru is our student president. She is very intelligent." The orientation drones on. Even I am bored now. I finish the tour by bringing them to the front courtyard to chat for a little while but they all seem eager to depart both from me and each other. Suits me fine, now I get to do what I want with my afternoon. Well, almost. I should probably check in with the boss first.

I phone her as I walk to the dorm.

"Charla? Don't tell me you've finished with them already?"

"Mitsuru!" I try to sound excited, like I did for the incoming students, but knowing Mitsuru I shouldn't even bother. "They were very excited and interested! They promise to be very good members of our wonderful school community!"

There is silence on the other end of the line. I suppose she must have seen through that. "Honesty might make you prettier."

There's a thought! "Oh Mitsuru, do you think so?" She's mocking me, I know. Best play along.

I hear her muffled scoffing. "Are you coming along?"

I look at my watch, fiddle with my skirt. "In this horrible school uniform? Ugh, it is so ugly. Is Akihiko there? I will not let him see me in this."

"No. Be prompt." Mitsuru has lost patience with me I fear. She has hung up on me without so much as Adieu!

I soon discover that she has lied to me. I find myself at the dorm and it is Akihiko himself who opens the door. I half swoon at the sight of him, he is too easy to tease! "Oh no! It's you! Don't look at me in this horrible blouse- wait, I'll take it off!" I reach for the top button dramatically.

"Honestly Charla…" Akihiko doesn't look impressed with me either. "Are you ever serious?"

What an accusation! Que de la misère pour notre beau Akihiko (Only misery for our handsome Akihiko). I let my hand fall anyways and follow him into the house. "Has something happened?"

"Not really, new dorm mate."

"Il est beau comme toi?" (He is handsome like you?)

"What?"

"Oh, ah… Do you all get along very well?"

"Yeah, we do but I won't lose to an underclassman."

"Who said anything about winning or losing?" I laugh at him "You need to relax a little. All that training all the time… I get tired just watching you."

"You watch me?"

"You don't?"

"Wait… What? That doesn't make any sense Charla. I can't watch myself workout."

"On l'appele une vidéo mon chou." (It's called a video, my dear)

"You've said something creepy just now haven't you?"

"Not at all! I was only just commenting on how clean this building is."

"… I don't believe you."

"I don't believe that you don't believe me. The Akihiko I know would never say such a thing to a lady!"

"You're not a lady."

"MITSURUUUUUUU!"

"She'll just agree with me."

He is very abusive towards me, this Akihiko. At least he is beautiful. Just look at him! Ah, here is Mitsuru now. I sit down at the table as she comes down the steps. My backpack is heavy after all, I am glad to put it down.

"What's all this commotion about?" Mitsuru asks as she comes to sit at the table with me.

"Nothing!" I say cheerfully, smiling as wide as possible. Akihiko throws his hands up in a gesture of defeat but he sits down with us anyways.

"I have a request for you Charla." Mitsuru says, folding her hands in front of her on the table. She looks all business, as always. "We have another incoming student here at the dorm. He came in late last night and we did not wish to wake him without due reason. I would like for you to take him to the school now and give a second tour."

I cannot help but slouch onto the table, my lower lip protruding in a pout. Akihiko laughs at me. Mitsuru smiles a little, at least. "I am familiar with situations like this. It is where I have the choice to say no but the unspoken moral obligation to say yes, no? Ah… well, fine. I will take him."

"I apologize for requesting more of your time with so little advance warning. The student council appreciates your invaluable efforts."

"Oh Mitsuru, you are such a cold person." I lean back in my chair, blowing my hair out my face. Being petulant is a lot of work you know. "Well and where is he; this lazy roommate of yours?"

"I'll get him." Akihiko offers to Mitsuru, going up the stairs at a jog.

I am alone with the boss. Really, I do not want to be. She will ask me about my home and she will talk to me in my native language. She is trying to be nice, I am sure, but I am not always desiring to be nostalgic. "You are excited for school Mitsuru?" I ask, sticking stubbornly to Japanese. I am sure she will take the hint.

"It promises to be an auspicious year, yes." Mitsuru replies in Japanese. Good. She looks tired, even though she's trying to hide it. I suppose anyone who works as hard as she does must be tired.

Akihiko is back and there's a dark haired boy with horrible posture following him. I stand up dramatically, my chair scraping backwards. "Oh mon DIEU! Mitsuru! This is him?"

The new roommate is staring at me now with very wide eyes. I am surprised he heard me through those enormous headphones; I can hear his music from here. "Just look at him! He has the eyes of a child who has seen his parents naked together in bed and will be forever haunted by it."

He looks hurt but he doesn't say anything. He casts a sidelong glance at Mitsuru who looks genuinely sympathetic. Akihiko is angry with me; he grabs at my arm and hisses into my ear "His parents are dead."

Crap. 


	3. Tree Dangling

**Chapter 2  
**_Tree Dangling_

(A word from the Cow-Writer. Moooooo. Sorry, can't help myself. This chapter is told from the perspective of our second, and last OC, Kaguya. The first, if you hadn't inferred it, was told from the perspective of Charla. We intend to switch perspectives per chapter and from this point on the story won't be so OC centric all the time as we have already introduced the new characters. I'll post whose perspective the chapter is being told from at the beginning of the chapters, sorry for not having done that earlier. Also, the plot is jumping around a little bit at this point, but it's all coming together I promise. R&R anyone? Would love to hear from you guys. Disclaimer; We own nothing.)

"Ah, what a beautiful day…" I say as I sit in a tree relaxing. It's early morning still and though its summer going into fall the air is crisp and cool. The sky is a soft blue, just dark enough so that the lights of Port Island sprawling out below me are noticeable. They're just pinpricks of light alone but together they aspire to rival the night sky. I breathe in the crisp air through my nostrils and let my mind soar.

The virgin sky ages but the sun is not yet here. The air is starting to warm up and the lights of Port Island are vanishing into the coming light. Life is calling.

"Well, time to get going or everyone will get worried." I say aloud as I commence swinging down out of the tree but with a jerk I find my foot caught on one of the branches.

"Ahhh!" I scream as I hang upside down. At least I'm not wearing a skirt. It's still uncomfortable, and I've scratched my leg enough to irritate the skin.

"Oh dear…Why does this keep happening to me?" I sigh.

Well how long can I be stuck up here for anyways? I consider getting myself out but as I consider the prospect I get distracted by the texture of the bark on the tree and spend the next five hours consumed by hopeless day dreaming.

"Hey…" a familiar voice says, shaking me from my happy reverie.

I crane my neck back to see a very grumpy, though happily familiar, person through the curtain of my hair. I swat my hair out of the way and shoot him my widest smile, "Shinjiro!"

"What the hell are you doing?" He asks with thinly veiled irritation. Go figure. He's always happy to see me.

"You know, _hanging_ out," I pause for dramatic effect and motion to my leg, maybe all the blood rushing to my head is finally getting to me. Shinjiro keeps his face perfectly neutral- it's a special talent of his. Anyone else would laugh at my hilarious joke! I should remember to discuss this one with the Chairman later. "It's been five hours, you know."

He raises an eyebrow, a hint of a smile twitching at his lips "Your brains have leaked out on to the ground."

"WHAT?" I gasp, craning my neck further to examine the ground. I know he's lying, but maybe it'll make him smile. "I don't see anything!"

"Exactly." I can't see his face but I can hear the good humour in his voice.

"Oh well… Will you help me out of the tree now?" My neck hurts. I stop looking around and pull my head up a little, cradling it in my hands. I try to pull up the rest of my upper body to try and stop the blood rush. I've done this a few times; it's a pretty good abs workout.

"No." Shinjiro says decisively.

"No? Why not?"

Shinjiro sniffs and it sounds like he's walking around but I can't really tell. "You got yourself into this mess and so it's up to you to get yourself out of it."

I'm about to answer him but there's an unhealthy sounding crack from the branch I'm hanging on and suddenly I find myself getting better acquainted gravity. I'm faintly aware of making some kind of noise- a cross between a spider monkey howl and a flamingo squawk. Do flamingos squawk?

I'm distracted by the unexpected texture of the ground. It's less hard and painful than I expected. Warm and soft, much like pavement isn't. What an exciting scientific discovery! My scientific discovery doesn't appear very happy with me though…

"Get…the…hell…off…me" A slightly injured and very harassed looking Shinjiro says through gritted teeth.

"That's what you get for your evil Social Darwinism. It's Karma." I say cheerfully, giving his head a good natured pat. "As punishment I think you need to buy me ice cream."

"My punishment? Your _ass_ just fell out of a tree and crushed my _spine_!" Shinjiro grimaces, his face red with either anger or embarrassment. He's so cute when he's harassed.

"If you buy me ice cream my butt might be more cushioned and next time it won't hurt so badly." I say matter-of-factly, "Or you could have just been a gentleman and helped me out of the tree."

"NEXT TIME?"

"Well sure, I get stuck in trees all the time. You wouldn't believe it."

"Get off of me." Shinjiro repeats.

"No. You got yourself into this mess you get yourself out of it." I say primly.

I reconsider this pettiness from my new vantage place, face first on the pavement. I always forget that Shinjiro has a limit of how much harassment he's willing to take from me. "Owww…" I say, sitting up.

Shinjiro is adjusting his coat and brushing the dust of his knees. He looks at me, almost apologetic. "Here," he says, offering me his hand and pulling me up with relative gentleness.

"Thanks." I say, wishing I could hold his hand but I know it'll irritate him so I let him go first. He always has a mellowing effect on me. He just always looks so unhappy.

"Look, I can't buy you ice cream." He says, looking away from me.

"I know." I answer, softly.

The day isn't young any more. The hush of the morning has been replaced by the noise of the bustling city and the crisp morning air has thickened with warmth and humidity. It had lost all of its serenity but it was beautiful in another way.

"Sorry." He says. But he walks back with me to town anyways.


	4. I think you'll like it here Minato

**Chapter 3  
**_I think you'll like it here, Minato_

(_Minato's POV, Disclaimer: We own nothing. I see some one from Thailand has read this. My co-writer, Tifastrifeinlove, is Thai. She says hi! The plot, by the by, is not meant to exactly follow P3. It is intentional. R&R would be nice __)_

It's a nice school, I guess. One place is really much the same as another. The school seems to have a lot of money, and the town, though relatively small, is also relatively well off. Last night was strange though… First time anyone has ever pointed a gun at me in my life.

"Do you play an instrument, Minato?" The French girl asks me. Charla. She's still acting apologetic after her off-colour joke from back in the dorm. It's been ten years, she didn't know, and I don't care. I hate how people act when they find out about my parents. As if I would collapse into a miserable, sobbing heap every time someone so much as mentioned the word 'mum'.

"No." I finger my mp3 player in my pocket, itching to turn it on and tune her out. My headphones are waiting patiently around my neck.

We tour the school more thoroughly than I expect to, but I can't help but be distracted by the events of last night. I remember seeing the pregnant moon, white and gleaming, as I stepped off the train and then… it was as though I had been suddenly immersed under water. Everything became silent and tinged with a yellow haze. There were… enormous black coffins everywhere and not a soul in sight. Did I dream it? It certainly felt like a dream at the time; at once foreign and familiar.

We're at the swimming pool. I stare down into the now calm waters. My feet are half over the edge. My shoes are solid, unmoving, and black contrasting against the semi-transparent water which never holds still. I sympathize with it. I hate moving all the time. I'm a sessile being at heart.

"It is peaceful here now," Charla says from somewhere behind me, "But the team is very lively. They are also very competitive. Do you swim well, Minato?"

I close my eyes and imagine myself falling into the water. Only my headphones and mp3 player stop me from doing it. I don't really care if I ruin my clothes. Instead I kneel down and test the water with my fingers. I shrug a little, "I won't drown."

The rest of the school doesn't strike as my particularly interesting. But it's always like this at first. Every time I move to a new city I seem to be dragged down into one of these funks. I'll learn to appreciate this place better once I've established myself more, I'm sure. As it is now I can't help but feel that coming here was a massive mistake.

Charla walks me back to the dorm but doesn't come in with me, saying that she has other things to do. I'm left alone in the well air-conditioned dorm lounge. What am I doing here? Why did I come? They'll make me leave soon anyways. I'm only hurting myself by liking this place, and getting used to seeing so much of these people. I should wait until I get my permanent dorm room.

I put on my head phones and turn on my music. I'll try and find the beach. As I turn the door handle to go out I nearly run into the girl from last night; the one who threatened me with the gun. "Ah… Sorry." I say, stepping back to let her in.

"No, it's fine." Yukari says, not moving. "Are you going out, Minato?"

"Oh, ah…" What should I say? "I'm… going to the beach."

"I'll come with you." Yukari says, stepping aside to let me out. She doesn't look like she's giving me any options.

I pause anyways, hoping she'll be discouraged. She isn't going anywhere. "OK" I say, after a long pause, and follow her into the streets of Port Island. We don't speak until we're on the metro train.

Yukari is sitting down, with her bag on her lap, and I'm standing near her. She looks out the window at the passing city. "It's about last night." She says.

I wonder if she's referring to my strange dream or to threatening to kill me. I look down at her. She is very pretty, even if she is hostile. I pull my headphones off and wait for her to continue but I don't turn off my music. I can still faintly hear the steady beat.

"Promise you won't tell anyone about it." Yukari is still not looking at me.

I wait again, to see if she'll say anything. Eventually she does turn to look at me but she doesn't elaborate. Should I make such a promise? What do I owe them after all? No one has explained anything to me since I've arrived here. Still… "I promise."

Yukari nods and for the first time her expression relaxes and she gives me a relieved smile. "Thank you. We'll talk about it later, I promise."

We're here. Yukari is more relaxed and the conversation, although light, is pleasant. We wander along the coast at a very relaxed pace. She tells me about the school, the people, the weather, and the local celebrities.

"It sounds very peaceful." I say, enjoying the smell of the salty sea air. I have never lived on the coast before. I didn't like the smell when I first stepped off the train but I've already grown accustomed to it. It's so different but it is surprisingly pleasant.

Yukari smiles and nods, "It is, yeah."

We arrive at the beach late and it's still crowded. We stay up away from the sand and stand looking out at the waves from the wooden balcony. There's a busker on the street behind us playing the guitar. It's a cheerful tune.

"I think you'll like it here Minato" Yukari says, glancing my way with a smile.

I smile back at her and look back out to the sea. Yes. I think she's right.


	5. Full Moon Night

**Chapter 5**  
_Full Moon Night_

_(Disclaimer: We own nothing. __Beckynett__, glad you're enjoying it! Good to hear from you. __)  
_

It's the first day of school and it has been a long one. Stuck with Stupei again. Go figure. But Minato is with us in class, that's a plus. He's… he's a good guy. I feel bad not telling him anything. But what can I say to Mitsuru? She's already set on this plan of action and trying to convince her otherwise would be pointless.

I'm… where am I? I look around, unsurprised to find myself outside in the archery range. It's too soon for club, but it's nice being out here again. I wonder if it will be as fun after I start using my bow to actually kill things. They are only shadows but still… I hope I can forget about it. I hope I can keep living. Mitsuru and Akihiko can do it, and they've been in the Dark Hour so many more times than I have.

Still… I've seen them. The shadows. They're like animated ink or like bone marrow gone black. No faces, just masks. The one that I saw had two arms and they looked broken- even though I know that shadows have no bones. It could not stop screaming and that… that screaming was almost human. If I hadn't had my eyes open I could have sworn that it was human. Mitsuru was there though, and she ran it through with her sword. It… kept howling, even as the small bit of form it actually possessed collapsed. The sound it made then reminded me of… trying to scream, even as you're choking on your own blood. Did it drown?

Mitsuru tells me to stop thinking of Shadows has humans but I can't help myself. I don't know why…

I look up at the sky, shading my eyes from the sun with my arm. It's a full moon tonight. It's always horrible when it's a full moon. I'm scared because some day soon I know that… that Mitsuru will make me fight. I will have to fight. I don't know if I can do it…

I spot Minato as I'm walking out of the school and I feel a little better after he walks with me. We stop at a ramen shop for a bite to eat and we take our time wandering around the island and chatting before heading back to the dorm. I'm reminded sharply of what is coming when we see Mitsuru waiting for us back at the dorm.

Minato goes to bed and I follow Mitsuru unhappily up to the fourth floor so that we can "monitor" him. Where is Akihiko?

The Chairman is here too. I want him to tell a stupid pun so badly I feel at once ridiculous. "Ah, Chairman, y-you know that um… seven days without a pun makes one weak!" I say, trying to hide the tremor in my voice.

I can feel Mitsuru turn to look at me but I don't have the guts to meet her eyes. The Chairman just smiles and nods, "Very good." I don't feel very reassured.

The Dark Hour is here and at first everything is fine. I'm even starting to relax a little when suddenly Akihiko's voice blares into the room. He's bringing a shadow here, and it's big. My knees feel weak but I stand when Mitsuru tells me to, follow her down the stairs. I'm more numb than afraid. Tonight will be the night. The gun feels so unbearably heavy in my hands.

I almost faint when Akihiko stumbles into the dorm. He looks pale and worried, which is never a good sign, and he's holding his side with a pained expression on his face. I start towards him to help but he waves me away, "It's coming!" He gasps.

Mitsuru orders me away, starts talking to Akihiko. She has her sword drawn before I manage to run for the stairs. I need to get to Minato and then we'll…we'll do something. Akihiko and Mitsuru will take care of it. They will.

He's already up when I open the door, but there's a strange look on his face. He opens his mouth to tell me something but I shake my head "Minato, there's no time, come on!" To his credit, he shuts his mouth and follows me quickly.

We run up the stairs as quickly as possible. We'll hide on the roof. I fumble with the door for a moment, and am instantly relieved when we burst outside. I slam the door shut behind us and back away from the contaminated building. This is when I notice that Minato is looking at me, concerned.

"Your hands." He says quietly.

I look down and nearly cry. My hands are clutching the gun and they're shaking badly. I'm supposed to be the experienced one here! I'm supposed to be able to protect him. I look at Minato and take a deep breath. I need to protect him. My hands aren't shaking so desperately any more.

I stare at the door, ready to fight whatever comes through it.

Minato is facing the other way, his eyes hazy. He stiffens abruptly and I know with horrible certainty that my time has come. I need to do this. I turn around slowly, feeling a lump in my throat growing as the shadow comes into view- a dark silhouette against the full and rotting moon.

There must be a hundred arms, waving sharpened blades slowly as it climbs up the building. It is groaning softly, sounding oddly like the creaks of an old house. But… it's more violent, more sinister. The hand holding the mask pops up over the railing. The masks black eye sockets are staring at me intently.

Oh God, it smells like rotting earth and… and dried blood… I… I need to stand up! I place the barrel of the gun against my forehead and the cool metal returns my sense of normalcy for a moment before I look up again and the edges of my sight are consumed by darkness.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

What… is? Oh my head hurts so badly. I grab at the back of my head with one hand and prop myself up with my elbow. Minato is there, standing calmly with my evoker in his hand. The shadow from before it's… it's gone… But there are more.

I should get up to fight them. I should help him but… My vision swims before my eyes. Is it a trick of my mind or are those tears? I barely make out his persona- a tall white blur- and I watch as he takes out the remaining shadows. I watch.

Then he falls and my heart stops. "MINATO!" I shout, scrambling to my feet and rubbing furiously at my eyes. "Oh, please don't be dead."

I grab him by the shoulders and I can see him breathing steadily. His eyes are closed but… he seems unharmed. I call Mitsuru and, as the Dark Hour recedes, we take him to the local Hospital.

Akihiko sits beside me in the waiting room. He looks sympathetic but doesn't say anything.

"It's my fault…" I mutter, staring at my feet. I don't know what I want him to say.

Akihiko shifts in his seat, looks over at me. "Well, yes. But… you're stronger now. You won't let this happen again. Learn from it."

Learn from it.

It's a week before Minato wakes up. Thank God, I'm there with him when he does. He has barely opened his eyes before I'm talking.

"I need to tell you about the Dark Hour, Minato."

I tell him everything, Mitsuru be damned. 


	6. Atlas

**Chapter 6: **

_Atlas _

_(Disclaimer: We own nothing.) _

"We're going to Tartarus." Kaguya exclaimed, barging into Shinjiro's apartment unannounced as always.

"We're going to Tartarus." Mitsuru, elsewhere, announced to the SEES team.

"I'm going to eat Tartar sauce!" Charla, still elsewhere, announced to her bored date.

Three remarkable announcements marking the beginning of what would be an unpredictable night. Unpredictable here means three different things for the three groups involved. Two you will have to wait to see, one I can you tell now and with confidence is the unhappy surprise of bad indigestion.

At the SEES dorm the group has just welcomed Junpei and the Chairman is making use of brilliant puns to best illuminate the grim situation and Yukari hasn't managed to successfully join together the concepts of "Junpei" and "The Potential"- it's just too abstract.

"Tartarus… Tartarus…" Junpei muses aloud, he's surprised when it seems as though the group is paying attention to him. He cracks a grin for their benefit, "Sounds like Tartar Sauce!"

Yukari coughs and they move on. It isn't long before Junpei sees another opportunity, however.

"This could be disastrous." Yukari says quietly after Mitsuru tells them that she and Akihiko will not be accompanying them.

Junpei sniffs loudly and leans his elbows on to the table, looking around. "A disaster in Tartarus…" he says, nodding slowly, "It's like… a disaster in Tartar sauce, right?" He grins.

Yukari throws her hands up in disgust "And what kind of disaster would that be Stupei?"

"A DELICIOUS disaster!"

Meanwhile, in a small unclean and poorly lit apartment room, Kaguya is looking down at her old friend. He is much changed. She leaves the light off. She can see him just fine by the light of the street lamps outside the window. The room is thick with smoke and the stale smell of unwashed socks.

Shinjiro sighs, turns away from the intrusive light coming in from the open door, and buries his face into the couch. He has just taken his drugs and his muscles are still weakly protesting. The familiar feeling of nausea is nearly overwhelming. He realizes dimly that Kaguya must be disgusted with him. At least she won't tell Aki.

The sound of a car honking and cats fighting are heard dimly through the thin window panes and Shinjiro has left his old wind-up radio on in the kitchen. It's the news. Someone is dead. There are more reports of Apathy Syndrome. Kaguya turns it off irritably. "Tartarus, Shinjiro. You need to see it."

"And then maybe we'll hire you a maid." Kaguya murmurs, moving an unidentifiable mass out of her way on the floor. Everywhere but the small kitchen is an absolute mess. At least he maintains his respect for food.

Shinjiro tries to be as still as possible. Maybe she'll think that he's unconscious. He pulls his beanie down over his eyes, wishes he was wearing his coat so he could conceal his face. He flinches when his beanie is ripped off his head and shoots Kaguya an irritated look.

"Wouldn't have happened if you would just stop taking those _pills_." Kaguya says motioning at his drugs which he has stupidly left out. Her eyes soften abruptly though and she kneels down beside the couch. He keeps his back to her. She reaches out and runs a hand along his shoulders, pausing between shoulder blades. "You're not Atlas, Shinjiro. No one's shoulders are so broad as to be able to carry the world. So…"

Shinjiro sniffs, turns over and looks at her through red rimmed eyes. "That has nothing to do with it."

A small frown creases her brow but she shakes her head and hands him back his beanie. "You won't tell me about it anyways, you never do. Let's go, we'll be late. Don't forget to get your evoker."

She's standing by the door with his coat in her arms. Shinjiro watches her for a moment from the back of his room, the evoker already strapped to his hip and an axe in his hand. If he weren't so painfully tired he would feel guilty. She's not smiling and it's his fault. He sighs a little, looks out the window, it is her own fault: he isn't asking her to be here.

He joins her and she hands him his coat gently. He's surprised to see the look of guilt on her face and sighs. "Why the face?"

Kaguya shrugs a little, doesn't look at him. "I don't like having to be like this."

"So leave." Shinjiro pulls his coat on, regretting his words even as he says them. What if she does leave? It would be better. Still, it leaves a bitter taste in his mouth.

"I can't..." Kaguya looks up at him, smiles sadly. "I know you're still angry at what I did… or I suppose what I failed to do, but… I can't give up on you. I refuse to believe that punishing yourself will solve anything. You deserve life, Shinjiro…Real life. You deserve ice cream on sunny beaches with friends, and dancing in the moonlight to music played by buskers on the street. You deserve to fall asleep watching the night sky, without having to worry all the time. Not..." She looked around the stale room, eyes eventually stopping on the drugs lying on the coffee table by the couch. "Not this..."

Shinjiro stares blankly at the door handle. This is an old hurt, and like old hurts, it has had much time to fester. He does not want to look at it anymore. "We've been over this, Kaguya." he mumbles.

Kaguya looks at him, cups his jaw in the palm of her hand and kisses him briefly. "I know. Let's go."

The Dark Hour descends. 


	7. Flames in Tartarus

**Chapter 7**

_Flames in Tartarus_

_(Disclaimer: We own nothing. Minato's perspective. Uh, chapter 5 was from Yukari's perspective, sorry for not posting.)_

I dreamt again last night. I was in an elevator with an old man who had these two little dark eyes like the eyes of a crow, and a young man with golden eyes who… he scared me more, actually. He seemed harmless and accommodating but… how can I explain it? It's like watching a skilled athlete move. There is something in the way they use their muscles that denotes control, power and confidence. I saw that in the young man.

The crow-eyed man introduced himself as Igor and he told me that the young man was named Theodore. I was convinced at the time that I had gone insane. I hadn't thought my sanity was so fragile but everything seemed so physically real while my mind was rebelling. I nearly laughed when Igor told me about my 'unique abilities'. Of course, if I were to go insane I _would _pretend to be someone special and important. Someone who could control what went on around them.

I signed his contract. To take responsibilities for my actions. I wasn't thinking. What have I gotten myself into?

I'm sure now that it was real, whatever it was. The creatures with Yukari on the rooftop and the conversations I've had with my dorm mates during the day have convinced me. At least…I think so. I'm quite sure. Yes, it must be real. I have the key, after all. To that place. The "Velvet Room". It's here, in my pocket.

I spent a week in the hospital, according to Yukari. I remember more of it than should be normal, I think. I remember my dreams. Seven days of sunlight and water. I never actually went to the beach with them. We never lived by the water. That's how I know it was a dream. I was a little boy again and I was standing knee deep in the water, holding my mothers hand. We walked slowly, scooping up empty shells and pretty rocks. I saw a crab once and I cried… Those dreams felt real too. Just as real as the Velvet Room did. But I have no sea shells to prove it.

"Minato, you'll lead."

What?

I blink, look up at Akihiko. He nods at me, smiles. Junpei is making a dull fuss. We're in Tartarus already. I wasn't really paying attention… There's just… so many other strange things going on in my head, the sudden appearance of an enormous tower where our school used to be just isn't as shocking as it should be. I try to focus again.

And fail.

In the corner of my eye I can see a door. It is emitting a faint blue light and it doesn't appear to lead anywhere. The others haven't noticed it yet. I know where it leads but I resist the temptation to go and prove the theory. We have other things to attend to, after all.

It feels strange to be carrying a sword in my hand. This is ridiculous. I should have convinced myself that picking up sea shells with my mother was real. A nice cozy bed in a mental asylum and dreams of sunshine that felt as real as anything else I've ever felt… what's so wrong with that?

I look over and see Yukari and immediately feel bad. She's still scared. Badly. It's not pleasant, but it is real. She is alive here and now. My mother is gone. I tighten my grip on the sword handle, ridiculous as it is, and ascend the stairs into the alien world of Tartarus.

It doesn't take long for us to run into shadows. I'm worried about Yukari originally, but she holds her own fairly well. She's much steadier than she was the other night. Junpei is also surprisingly stable. He takes out the last of a group of shadows with a blow from his katana and grins over at me. I get the impression he's trying to prove something.

"This sure is weird huh?" Junpei says, looking around.

Yukari still looks pale. She doesn't answer him. She looks longingly behind us for a moment but catches me watching her and tries to steel her expression again. I sigh and nod at Junpei, "Yes it is."

"What do you think it's for? Who built this place?" Junpei walks a little bit ahead of us, looks around the corner and then back at us. "Whoever they are they've got bad taste in home décor."

Yukari smiles a little and follows him. I'm about to follow but I pause and turn around. What was that? Junpei cracks another joke and I answer him dimly but the dark passage behind me is drawing me towards it. There is someone there. I smell the sea shore. I close my eyes for a moment and I drift back into that dream world, smile up at my mother, into the warmth of the sun. Then I hear… chains? Are those chains?

I think Yukari is calling me but I can't focus on her. I do hear chains. Something is dragging its feet slowly. Every time it takes a step I hear the heavy chains rattle again. I see it! There is a silhouette in the darkness. It isn't a shadow, it's too tall. Slumped. A pair of glittering golden eyes peers at me from the darkness and a chill grips my heart. My muscles feel heavy.

It draws in one long, shuddering breath through what must be tattered lungs. It exhales once, sharply. And something has drawn me back. Yukari?

The world leaps back into focus. The hulking thing with the glittering eyes must be a shadow. I grope for my evoker, dropping my sword to the ground in my haste. I get the feeling that cutting at this thing won't help. Yukari is standing in front of me, an arrow already notched in her bow. Junpei is beside me, his evoker already out. He summons his persona and the shadow is engulfed in flames.

I see it then, clearly. Its face is contorted into a twisted expression of bitter hate and the fire casts hideous shadows that illuminate the many scars of the shadows skin. It doesn't move. We wait as the flames slowly extinguish.

Yukari gasps and lets fly her arrow but it never makes contact. I can hardly react, it's so fast! The shadow grabs her bow and flings it across the corridor, smashing it against the wall. Its mouth opens and reveals a set of filed, pointed teeth, covered in what looks like fresh blood. I don't hear anything but Yukari screams and covers her ears, falling to her knees.

No time. I summon Orpheus who scorches the shadow with searing flames. I can make out vague shapes through the smoke. The shadow digging its claws into Yukari's shoulder, lifting her into the air. Blood gushes out on to the ground.

For the first time I notice Mitsuru screaming into our headset. "GET OUT OF THERE! NOW! MOVE!"

I'm torn. We can't handle this but… we can't just leave her. I summon Orpheus again, pummel the shadow with everything I have. Nothing seems to work.

Yukari screams again. It doesn't look as though the shadow is doing anything more to her physically but its eyes are locked on hers and she cannot seem to look away from it.

"Minato, what do we do?" Junpei sounds torn.

"Move." A foreign voice.

I'm shoved out of the way by a tall boy in a dark red coat. He's carrying an axe in one hand, an evoker in the other. Behind me I hear a girls voice whisper, "Persona" and the corridor is once again consumed by light.

I rub my eyes furiously, what's going on? Shapes slowly come into focus. The man in red shoves Yukari into my arms, turns back to the shadow which has retreated, apparently stunned.

"Take her and go back to Mitsuru. She needs rest but I promise you, she will be fine." It's the girl who summoned the persona. She gives me a quick, reassuring smile, and then rushes after the man in red and the shadow.

"Who are they?" Junpei asks.

I'm wondering the same thing. "There's no time. We need to go back." I say, my voice coming out as more of a croak.

"Shouldn't we help them?"

It's all I can do to keep from laughing bitterly. "Help them? We couldn't hurt that thing. We can't help them. We can help her. Come on, help me carry her."

Junpei nods, for once wordlessly, and helps me carry her back to Mitsuru and Akihiko. We help her sit up on the back of Mitsuru's motorcycle after Mitsuru casts a quick healing spell with her persona. She still needs rest. Mitsuru thinks that the dorm would be best.

As Mitsuru settles on to her motorcycle and prepares to leave I remember the two strangers that helped us. "Mitsuru," I pause as she looks at me, "There were two people…"

She nods but her expression remains carefully neutral, "Shinjiro and Kaguya, yes. I heard them. You were very lucky."

She left. 


	8. Yet you'll miss me so much

**Chapter 8**

_Yet you miss me so much… _

_(Disclaimer: We own nothing.)_

The man with shadows on his heart picks up the not-daughter of the old man who cuts bamboo and carries her out of Babylon. The not-daughter puts her weary head on his shoulder and cries because he has to take care of her again. It's not supposed to be this way.

"Doucement," the shadowed heart murmurs, "doucement…"

The day is hot, humid, and buggy. The students of Gekkoukan High are milling around outside for lunch, though most have retreated to the air conditioned interior. Minato and Junpei are sitting near the entrance silently. It's only been a few days since their recent disaster in Tartarus. They're both still disturbed by it.

Junpei takes a bite out of his sandwich and tips the bill of his cap back so that he can watch the sky. "I can't stop thinking about Tartarus man…"

Minato shrugs, chews on his bottom lip a little. A face looms out of his imagination; its flesh burned a raw pink, eyes glittering, its gaping mouth sliding open unnaturally to reveal rows of jagged teeth and a rotting, lolling tongue. He remembers Yukari, desperate to make up for her weakness before… that's his fault. He didn't want it to be his fault. He never asked to lead. Then again, he didn't refuse either…

"Hey, do you remember the people who saved us?" Junpei asks. 

Minato is shaken from his thoughts. Irritably he nods, "The ones that Mitsuru didn't tell us about?" Clearly they had gone in without knowing everything that the older students did. How could they think that was acceptable? He, and Junpei, and Yukari were all risking their lives, and for what? Who knew what else the older students were hiding.

"Yeah, without them we'd be dead!" Junpei shivered at the thought. "Who'd have thought K-chan would be so _kickass_? And the dude she was with. _Hardcore_. You think Mitsuru and Akihiko are that strong? Dude, we'll be that strong someday. I'll be stronger. I'll save them next time, haha!"

Minato looks over at Junpei, perplexed. He really didn't get it. He was actually _excited _about going back to that… place.

"Oh, yeah! You haven't met K-chan have you? You'll see her around eventually dude, she's in our class and in our dorm. I don't think she's here today though…" Junpei mused.

"…Yukari isn't here today either." sighed Minato, leaning forward to put his elbows on his knees. It had the desired effect though. Junpei's usually indestructible enthusiasm was somewhat dampened. The air seemed to get heavier.

Junpei fiddled with the bill of his hat again, waved to a group of students passing by. "Wonder how she's doing."

Suddenly, Junpei sat up as though someone had pinched him in the ass. "We shouldn't let what happened in Tartarus get us down!"

"What?" Minato blankly stares.

"There's an event going on in Port Island today. So, why don't we get Yuka-tan and go have some fun?" Junpei grins. Minato doesn't seem to get it so he explains patiently, "We don't want to have her moping all the time, right? It'll cheer her up."

"Ah… oh." Minato shrugs, smiles a little. "Yeah maybe that'll even work. Let's do it."

Meanwhile in his apartment, Shinjiro stands by the open window with a cigarette dying between his teeth. He leans on the sill and thinks that it's too hot a day to be living in an apartment without air conditioning. He's relieved when the breeze, warm and faint though it is, cools his brow. He crushes the cigarette against the sill and tosses it out the window, idly remembering the fight in Tartarus.

Every muscle in his body is aching- a pain that reaches even into his bones. They might be using Personas to fight but it somehow always takes a toll on him physically. The pain is good though. When his body hurts he can focus on it instead of the myriad of weights that tug at his heart. It's almost relaxing.

He leans back and glances back into his room as he walks to the kitchen. The body in his bed hasn't moved- it is just as immobile now as it has stubbornly been since he dragged it out of Tartarus. He's beginning to suspect its motives.

He picks up the wind up radio on his counter and flicks it on, fiddling with it until he can get something resembling a clear signal. The news is the same as it always is but he's used to listening to it so he leaves it on as he cooks. "I really should apologize…" he mutters. "Is she ever gonna get up?"

"MMmnnnnnggghhhhh. Shinjiro?" Asks a small voice from his room.

Shinjiro can't help but smile. He turns off the stove and walks back into his room, sitting at the edge of his bed with a coffee in his hand. His coffee. But she probably needs it more than he does at this point. He offers it to her wordlessly, smiles a little more when she takes it and gulps it down. "You hate coffee." He reminds her.

Kaguya chokes on the drink, but attempts to finish drinking properly. She hands the coffee back to him with a small thanks, her face the very picture of nausea. She puts a hand to her forehead and squints at the light coming in from the window. "How long have I been out?"

Shinjiro shrugs, "Couple days. You look like the living dead."

Kaguya pales. A couple days? That means a couple days without washing, deodorant, a change of clothes… food, drink and… "Where's your bathroom?"

Shinjiro indicates the bathroom with a tilt of the head and heads back to the kitchen as she gets up. "There are some clean clothes on the counter and I'm already making you food so don't ask."

Kaguya sluggishly makes her way to the bathroom, leaning back on the door and flicking on the lights with a sigh. On the counter is a pile of clothing- clean, what looks to be a skirt and blouse in a style similar to her old clothes, a new toothbrush and stick of deodorant, and a small plastic bag on top of a clean towel. Curiously she opens the plastic bag and has to work to contain her laughter. Inside are the skimpiest, pinkest combo of panties and bra that she has ever seen. On top of them is a small note detailing the price and several poorly worded, obscene jokes about being knocked out for two days in Shinjiro's bed, signed 'Bisous, Charla'.

Naturally.

In the kitchen Shinjiro turns the stove back on in time with the sound of the shower starting. The local news is on. Something about the local events this weekend. One, in particular, catches his attention. It's a 10 mile foot race around Port Island with five checkpoints- what makes it interesting is that there are "zombies" scattered around the island waiting for the players and to win the race you have to reach all five checkpoints and answer all five of the riddles without being "eaten" and becoming a zombie yourself. It sounds… fun.

He places the plate of fried potatoes, scrambled eggs and bacon down on the table for Kaguya- throwing a green apple in the mix after a moment of thought. He gathers the junk from the table- old newspapers and junk mail mostly- and tosses it on to the counter instead. Then he sits down and waits, awkwardly, trying to drink from his sadly empty coffee mug. As he stands up to refill it Kaguya joins him in the kitchen.

"Thank you." She says, smoothing out her skirt as she does so, "For everything I mean. Letting me stay here and… and the clothing and stuff. How much did it cost?"

Shinjiro grunts as he pours himself another cup of coffee "Don't worry about it."

"But…" Kaguya is about to protest but she stops when he stiffens his shoulders. Her eyes soften a little and she sits down at the table instead. "Thank you." She says again.

"Eat up." Shinjiro orders, turning around and leaning against the counter as he sips his coffee.

On the radio an old American blues song comes on that neither of them knows. It's a woman's voice, accompanied by an out of tune piano, and she's singing bye, bye blackbird in a tongue that neither of them speak.

Shinjiro clears his throat, remembers that his apartment is stiflingly hot. "Speaking of the living dead…"

Kaguya takes a bite of the apple, looks up at him curiously. "We weren't…" she says quietly, but he ignores her.

"There's an event in town today." Shinjiro sips his coffee again "10 mile zombie foot race, with riddles. You're into that kind of thing aren't you?"

"Being chases by zombies? Are you making fun of my shadow fighting ability? Look, I only ran that time because-" Kaguya starts, blushing madly.

Shinjiro cuts her off "Nah, nah. It's not that. Just thought you might want to go do something fun for a change."

"Now you're saying I'm no fun."

"No! God, just… fine, forget I said anything." Shinjiro says angrily.

Kaguya gets even redder in the face, looks down sheepishly at her remaining food. "I'm sorry Shinjiro… I'm just not used to you asking to spend time with me. There's always some other reason." She looks up and sees that he's still mad.

"Do you want to go or not?" He asks through gritted teeth.

"… OK."

A few hours later in the middle of Port Island Station; there is a stage surrounded by flowers, balloons, and zombies. Minato and Junpei have also managed to get a sullen and unhappy Yukari to join the best zombie experience of a life time. As Kaguya and Shinjiro register for the event they spot the group of high school students near the stage.

"Hey, long time no see!" Kaguya waves and bows as she greets them.

"Whoa, K-chan! What up?" Junpei high-fives her.

"K-chan? You're younger than us?" Yukari asks.

"Naah, it just sounds cuter that way, y'know? Besides, K-chan doesn't mind right?" Junpei grins looking at Kaguya.

"Not at all." Kaguya smiles.

Shinjiro rolls his eyes. K-chan? It sounds ridiculous. He decides to change the subject. "You guys doing this event thing too, huh? Are Aki and Mitsuru here as well?"

Minato shakes his head, "No. They're with Charla somewhere. They left before we could ask them to come."

Kaguya blushes, remembering what she's wearing and whose fault it is. "Charla! I… er, she's not here then either. I owe her some money for… uh, stuff." She wonders if Shinjiro even knows… a cursory glance at his equally embarrassed face seems to indicate that he does.

There's an awkward silence.

"Well anyway, let's get this party started!" Junpei exclaims confidently. After another awkward silence he looks around for support. "Anyone have any idea what we're supposed to do?"

"We came all this way and you don't even know the rules?" Yukari yells at Junpei.

"You have to go to five different booths all around the island to answer various riddles while trying to avoid getting tagged by the people dressed as zombies. They won't tag us in the monorail though." Minato answers.

"WHAT RIDDLES?" Junpei exclaims.

"There's a worse catch, actually…you have to wear a red string around your pinkies attached to one other person in your group so the zombies can identify you and to slow you down a little, because you have to be careful not to break the string. If you do, you're disqualified." Minato explains slowly, he waits for Junpei to make the obvious realization.

It takes a moment.

"Heeyyyy" Junpei says, "There are three of us…"

"That's right. One of us will have to register solo and get partnered with someone random." Minato says, glancing to see if Yukari is paying attention.

Yukari still looks… Unhappy. There's no other way to describe it. There are also dark circles developing under her eyes. It doesn't look as though she's been sleeping well. She looks up sullenly when she notices Minato looking at her but looks away again slowly without reacting. 

"Well, we're already registered and we're gonna be late. Catch up with us when you get it sorted." Shinjiro interjects irritably. He noticed the look between Minato and Yukari. It must be Tartarus. The girl was awfully close to Death. The point of the event was to forget about what had happened and if they were going to spend all of their time looking at each other that would be impossible. It would be best if they split away.

"But- wait, we're not in that much of a hurry." Kaguya protests.

"No. We are. Come." He grabs her hand and starts dragging her to the stage.

"Ladies and gentlemen…I welcome you to our first annual zombie event!" The familiar announcer says. "This event is for people to take their minds off the dreaded Apathy Syndrome with the terror of zombies."

"Wait…isn't that the Chairman?" Junpei pointed out.

"Only he would do something as stupid as this…" Yukari rolls her eyes.

"And you know we've only just be-_pun_!" The Chairman laughs.

"Yep, that's the Chairman…" Junpei says.

"There are five stations with the five riddles needed to finish with the zombie event. What stations you choose to go in order to does not matter. When you answer the riddle correctly let the people at the station stamp your stamp card and head to the next station. Now, everyone tie your strings on your pinkies and make sure it's nice and tight but make sure you're not in a _knot_ yourself!" The Chairman laughs alone into the microphone again. There are scattered patters of uncertain applause.

The groups prepare their strings and check to see if they have their stamp cards as they wait for further commands.

"Everyone will start at the same time and everyone will have ten minutes until we release the living dead. Keep in mind, violators of the rules will be disqualified. When you finished with all the riddles show your stamps back here at the stage. And MOST IMPORTANTLY remember, what did the zombie get an award for? _DEAD_-ication!" The Chairman lets out a loud guffaw of laughter. Clearly this is the highlight of his day. Maybe even his month. He clears his throat and checks his watch, "All right ladies and gentlemen. Dusk approaches. I hope you're ready to run for your lives because it's time to start…. NOW!" 

Shinjiro and Kaguya head toward Paulownia Mall to get the first stamp as indicated on the map. As they reach the mall Kaguya glances down at the map again, "It doesn't give the specifics. The station is just supposed to be in the area somewhere. However, they're supposed to be well marked."

"Like that?" Shinjiro points to a couple covered in fake blood with a 'SURVIVE PORT ISLAND' sign at their feet. They're standing outside Club Escapade with the owner, chatting over a beer.

The owner of Escapade spots them and waves with a big grin on his face "Hey, Shinji! Haven't seen you in a while. Why don't you come by for a drink sometime? On the house."

Kaguya looks uncomfortable but doesn't say anything. Shinjiro has been faking his age for booze since he was… she can't remember. Forever, it seems like. He knows she doesn't like it. Probably doesn't care.

Shinjiro smiles, calls the owner by his name. "I'd stay and chat but we're doing this event."

"In it to win it?"

"Absolutely." 

"Well you just remember to come by sometime man. Good luck with the race. And a good day to you little lady." The owner tips his hat to them both as he makes his way back to the bar.

"You two ready?" The lady in the fake blood asks. She continues when they nod, "Here's my riddle, listen closely; 'I am at the end of time and the beginning of eternity. Who am I?'"

Kaguya and Shinjiro look at each other blankly. "That's… a little abstract." Shinjiro says flatly.

"Actually I think I've heard it before, just give me a moment to think." Kaguya says, frowning, "Ohhhh, I know I remember it! It's on the tip of my tongue…"

Shinjiro smiles a little "Don't hurt yourself…"

"Hush." Kaguya mumbles. A moment later she snaps her fingers and looks up with a big grin on her face, "It's the letter 'e'."

"There you go. Simple, right?" The lady smiles "You'd better get going. Your head start has been up for a while now so you'll be likely to run into the zombies now." 

"Thank you! Come on Shinjiro. Let's go to the next station." Kaguya is still grinning, clearly pleased with herself for remembering.

After a quick jaunt through the city with a few tense moments- including dodging a pair of zombies by sauntering along with a police officer. They nearly run into a zombie after later as they turn a street corner. They have to run blindly back through the city until they lose him and can then retrace their way to Gekkoukan, where the second station is supposed to be.

This time there is a large group gathered around the station and they have to wait. In the informal line- mob- ahead of them are Junpei and Yukari.

"Hey guys!" Junpei greets Shinjiro and Kaguya with a big grin. Beside him Yukari is flushed and has even forgotten not to smile a little.

"…Hey" Shinjiro nods.

"How far are you guys?" Kaguya asks.

"We've just finished our first riddle. We would have finished sooner if Stupei hadn't forced us to take such a roundabout route." Yukari says while looking at Junpei.

"Hey! It's not speed Yuka-tan- if we went the direct route we would have run into zombies and might've been caught but by going around we got here safely. Gotta think like a ninja. Gotta… gotta _be _the ninja." Junpei explains, mimicking something resembling the crane stance.

"Yeah, right…" Yukari shrugs. "Anyway, we're going to the next station. See you later."

As Yukari and Junpei take off bickering, Shinjiro and Kaguya make it to the person in charge of the riddles. Kaguya blanches when she recognizes the riddler and starts babbling immediately, "Hello, Ms. Toriumi. I'm sorry for not being here in class today. I was sick for a while…" 

"I'll just give you the make-up work tomorrow so you can do them at home. Hand them in when you're finished, okay?" Ms. Toriumi says casually. "Now, are you two ready for your riddle?" 

"Yes, ma'am." Kaguya says and Shinjiro rolls his eyes at her excessive politeness.

"Say my name and I will disappear. Who am I?"

"Is this some kind of folklore thing?" Shinjiro mumbles to Kaguya.

"For a riddle? Probably not but… maybe. Who disappears when you say their name?" Kaguya whispers back.

Ms. Toriumi waves them off to the side so other groups can hear the riddle.

"I've heard you can banish or control Devils if you speak their real name." Shinjiro says, and he can't help but listen to the other groups puzzling out the riddle around them.

Kaguya bites her lip "That doesn't sound precise or clever enough for a riddle. It's probably a word or a letter and not actually a name… What word is destroyed by the sound of itself?"

They pause, thinking. It's not long before Kaguya is snapping her fingers again and she drags him back to Ms. Toriumi. She stands up on her tip-toes and whispers the answer in her teacher's ear.

"Correct." Ms. Toriumi nodded as she stamped the card.

"What was the answer?" Shinjiro asks as they move away from the mob.

"Silence. It's not really a name, which makes it confusing." Kaguya answers quietly. "We're off to Iwatodai next."

They make a poor choice of route and are chased half way around the city before they finally decide to take shelter in a metro station to lose their pursuers. 

"Man, some of those guys are actually really fast…" Shinjiro pants as he sits on a bench to catch his breath.

Kaguya slumps down beside him, nodding. "No kidding. There are more of them now then there used to be… more people getting caught I guess. We'll probably have to sprint to the next station."

"We don't even know where the next station is!" Shinjiro exclaims.

Kaguya shakes her head "We ran past it. Those two old people- Bunkichi and Mitsuko- are the next station."

Shinjiro nods slowly, considering it. "That's not too far."

They look at one another, grin. "You ready?" Shinjiro asks.

"Absolutely."

They're noticed by a couple of cherry pickers hiding out at the entrance to the metro and they're lucky that they notice them in time. Kaguya breaks out laughing as Shinjiro grabs her by the wrist and starts sprinting in the opposite direction. They don't bother trying to lose the zombies and instead try to take the most direct route to the bookstore possible.

The city passes them in a blur; buskers, lights, drunks, lovers, fights, friends, noise and color. People laugh as they pass by and take pictures of the people being chased by zombies.

Shinjiro looks over his shoulder to see how far the zombies are behind them and catches Kaguya's eye. They share a genuine smile, and he lets out a shout of victory to the receding zombies. Kaguya laughs. Still, they barely make it into the bookstore before the zombies who are chasing them so quickly that they can't stop themselves from running into the door awkwardly.

They slump to the ground and laugh good naturedly with the old couple behind the counter. Eventually they catch their breath and come to stand in front of the couple.

"The riddle dear…" Mitsuko nudges her husband.

"Right, right. How did it go again…?" Bunkichi tries to remember.

"Until I am measured

I am not known,  
Yet you miss me so much  
When I have flown." Mitsuko states.

"Oh, that's right…well, what is the answer?" Bunkichi looks at Kaguya and Shinjiro.

Kaguya looks genuinely perplexed. She turns to start puzzling it out with Shinjiro but he's looking straight at Bunkichi. 

"Time" Shinjiro answers.

"What a smart lad! You're correct." Bunkichi smiles while Mitsuko stamps the card. "Come visit again you hear?" Bunkichi waves as the two of them sprint out the front door, aiming for the monorail.

"I'm surprised you got the answer before me Shinjiro." Kaguya says as they run.

"Actually I heard it from Aki." Shinjiro mumbles without looking back at her.

Their conversation is cut off by another batch of semi-able pursuers. They focus on evasion and soon don't have the breath for chit chat. These zombies aren't as fit, or are perhaps more tired, than the last ones were and they have less trouble out running them. They arrive at the monorail at a jog.

They're even lucky enough to get a seat on the monorail and after a quick chug of water and a few moments to catch her breath Kaguya picks the conversation back up, "I didn't think Akihiko was the type."

"What type?" 

"You know, the riddle type."

Shinjiro sighs, looks out the window. It's dark out already and it's quiet in their compartment. There's just the sound of the train moving and of anonymous creaking mechanical parts. Someone at the back of the compartment coughs dryly and another ruffles the pages of a book.

"You're right. He's not." What he would give for a cigarette right now. Maybe a drink. Instead he fiddles with the hem of his shirt to keep his fingers busy. "But Miki was. She used to… well, it doesn't matter what she used to do."

He waits for Kaguya to say something. He doesn't really know what. It's best not to dwell on things of the past… things like… no, people like Miki. If you do then you'll remember them and remember how and why you loved them- memories of impossible sunshine and endearing, incomprehensible moments. Then you remember they're gone again and you experience the same feeling of loss. But those feelings of forgotten love are so keen… remembering them, dwelling on them… it's more potent than any drug. And just as dangerous.

Still, he's started now.

"She never had any toys, or stuff, or anything but she loved stories. So… she used to hide in the alley behind the café, tucked in behind the garbage. She'd stay there all day listening to people. She'd come back with her head full of junk mostly." Shinjiro smiles and laughs a little "She would memorize these morning conversations… just ordinary stuff like- good morning, sleep well?- regular junk. Stuff she didn't get to hear much I guess. But sometimes she'd come back with these great stories- about far off places and incredible stuff that was happening there. People's trips- once she heard about someone's grandma who used the toilet on a cruise and didn't stand up before flushing and so the toilet sucked out her insides. Garbage."

Time to pause. He's going too far and he knows it. How long has it been since he's relived these moments?

"But… uh… the riddle, yeah." Shinjiro stops fiddling, cracks his knuckles instead. "I guess she got it from the café. She never really told it to me. She told it to Aki and she said that when she heard it she thought the answer w-was…" He bites down his lip and waits a long moment. Control. Get a grip. The view of the ocean outside the monorail window is blurring and swimming in the water gathering in his eyes. He blinks furiously. Starts again. "Sorry. She thought that the answer was 'Shinji' but Aki told her that it couldn't be me because they knew me, didn't they? He said time and she said Shinji. Never did change her mind about it." 

"…Shinjiro."

Before Kaguya can say anything more, the monorail stops. Shinjiro stands abruptly and moves abruptly off the train. Somehow there are less zombies here and they're able to move quietly and relatively slowly towards the next station at Naganaki shrine. They make the walk in perfect silence.

"Welcome to the only station this side of the island." A voice says as they approach the station. It is, once again, a familiar face: Mr. Edogawa. "Ready for your double riddles?"

"Double riddles?" Kaguya asks

"Same deal as before except it's individual- that is, no help from your partner- and you only get one try. You mess up and it's game over I'm afraid." Mr. Edogawa says with a shrug of his shoulders and an innocent smile.

Shinjiro and Kaguya share a look and then Shinjiro smiles a little. "I'm focused, don't worry. I know better than to dwell. I'm done." He gives her hand a quick squeeze "We got this."

Kaguya feels that she should say something. How can he just be over it? Just like that? But she knows him, and she knows that look in his eyes. Somehow he has done it… just filed away all that hurt and pain. Like always. She smiles for him, nods. "We're ready then."

"The more you take of me, the more you end up leaving behind. Who am I?" Mr. Edogawa asks. "And this one is for the girl."

Kaguya has a hard time focusing. It sounds too romantic, and too sad. She keeps thinking of that dead little girl that Shinjiro loved. Is it memory? You take your fill of memory and leave the world behind… no, doesn't fit, too romantic. She examines her feet, absently makes patterns in the soil. "Footsteps." She murmurs uncertainly at first. Then she looks up and says it with a little more conviction, "Footsteps. Right?"

"Good for you! That's absolutely right…Alright now it's your turn." Mr. Edogawa turns to face Shinjiro.

"You cannot see me in the same way as you see others. My voice is different than what you hear. I am always with you when you are alone or in a crowd. I listen to each and every word you utter and I am your best friend but I speak to you only once in a blue moon? Who am I?"

Aki. Shinjiro smiles a little. But that's not the answer Mr. Edogawa is looking for, obviously. He thinks about who is always with him and can come up with no viable answer. His shoes, skin, shadow… they all work so none of them can work. But perhaps by putting the pieces together to form the whole… "It must be self."

"Well I'll be, that is correct." Mr. Edogawa says as he stamps the card to complete it.

"Yes! Go team!" Kaguya attempts a high five with a reluctant Shinjiro until he eventually he accedes. She then gives him a quick hug and they make a quick pace back to the monorail. "You know, we might even have won."

"At our pace? Not likely."

Kaguya laughs "Yeah, you're probably right. We should be called 'The Slugs'."

Shinjiro nods and smiles "Yeah, but at least we're not zombie slugs."

"Hey Shinjiro?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks. For everything, again. I keep trying to help you but… it always ends up being you helping me. One of these days I'll be able to return the favor. I swear. This was… you know, a lot of fun. We should do stuff like this more often."

"OK."

They arrive back at the start of the race without much harassment and walk up to the Chairman. There are a few groups milling around and Club Escapade has been reserved for the participants but things won't start happening until more of the groups finish. 

"Congratulations you two- you've made top five." The Chairman says as he shakes their hands. "You do make a wonderful team, as always."

Top five? Shinjiro and Kaguya look at each other and shrug. "Hey, it doesn't matter to me. I'm just glad we spent some time together." Kaguya says.

Shinjiro shakes his head, "You're so corny. Of course it matters that we didn't win."

The Chairman laughs "Well don't be too upset, as top five you still qualify for a pretty wicked prize."

The pair looks at him curiously.

"Your prize is… ALL EXPENSES PAID TICKETS TO KARAOKE! Food, ice cold drinks, and songs provided. Bring up to twelve people for an all night karaoke session at Mandragora for up to a year!" The Chairman announces, in his best out doors voice.

"You know that actually is a pretty good prize." Kaguya says cheerfully.

"No. No, it's not. Not by any stretch of the imagination. We're not going. Give it to charity." Shinjiro grimaces. 

"What charity?" The Chairman asks, a half smile on his lips.

"I… I don't know- the charity for musical homeless people. Whatever. Not us!" Shinjiro snaps.

Kaguya laughs and smiles at the Chairman "Ohhh, don't listen to him. We'll take it! We're honored to accept such a wonderful prize!"

Shinjiro, for what feels like the umpteenth time that night, rolls his eyes.

Across town, by the ocean, Mitsuru, Akihiko, and Charla are standing together. Mitsuru pulls her hair back into a ponytail to keep it out of her face as the wind blows, and leans back against the railing on the stairs to the beach. Beside her Akihiko sighs and shakes his head. "I don't know about this, Mitsuru."

Charla, who is standing across from them, shrugs. "Look, I get that you two aren't telling me everything. That's fine. But you wanted my advice and I've given it. That poor girl… whatever it is that you've burdened her with is quite clearly too much. Some people grow stronger in adverse conditions and others wither. It's too early to say which she is but if you continue to pressure her it is very possible that her mind will snap. It happens all the time. Is whatever you're doing important enough to risk her life?"

Akihiko frowns at her "Her life? Don't you think you're being a little dramatic?"

"No!" Charla leans forward angrily, her eyes flashing. "I am not being dramatic! I am talking about the very real possibility of her suicide. If you continue along the path that you are taking you might kill her. Nothing is certain. But do you want to take that risk?"

The ocean crashes against the cliffs, waves rushing in with a sigh across the sand. Gulls cry, even at this late hour. The smell of salt is thick in the air. The breeze is becoming cooler.

Akihiko bites his tongue and looks away from them, his arms crossed stubbornly across his chest. "We are not killing her." He grumbles angrily. He doesn't really understand it, why Yukari is still so scared. Tartarus for him is a challenge and when he gets hurt he's just more motivated to become stronger but Yukari… she's not even badly hurt and she's been hiding in the dorm crying for days. Why?

"All right, Charla." Mitsuru murmurs. "I agree. Yukari is unfit for this task. We will remove the burden from her shoulders." 


	9. Man Bonding

Chapter 9

_Man Bonding_

_( is bothering me. Stop messing with my formatting :/.I don't think I've ever written a chapter, or anything, in which I've used the word 'man' so often. Dropletofsour- Yeah, I usually avoid stories with OC's myself but I find with the Persona series the relationships between the characters in game are pretty well explored to so to expand on them it's easier to put in elements that you won't find in the game- for instance, OC's. Glad you like it so far __ Disclaimer: We own nothing)_

(Junpei's POV)  
  
"Akihiko, my man." I announce as I sit down next to the sewing boxer- yes, he sews. BUT, it's still manly cause he's sewing his boxing gloves which are falling apart cause he uses them so much. "Wanna hang?"

Yeah, that sounded casual. Totally cool.

"No."

"What? Why not?" Aw man. Was hoping he'd say yes. We coulda hooked up with those fine senoritas that always follow him around. "Come on, man!"

"No. I'm busy."

"You're _sewing_!"

Akihiko puts down his glove and looks at me. I wonder how much damage he can cause with that sewing needle. "Not that sewing isn't important! Just… man, the girls are all out with Yuka-tan doing that girl bonding thing so why shouldn't you, Minato and I all hang? It'll be team building!"

That's a lie; I don't know where Minato is or what he's doing. Maybe trying out that new MMORPG I suggested- ha ha. Know how that goes, might not see the light for a couple of days if we don't help him out of it.

"All right." Akihiko says, looking resigned. He's totally pumped though, I can tell. "What did you have in mind?"

"I don't know. We could go to Game Panic and test our awesome skills, eat some Hakagure ramen, or read some manga at Book On." I say as I imagine our vey manly quality time.

Before Akihiko can answer, Minato walks down the stairs holding a pair of pants with a gigantic rip in the middle of them. "Dude, what happened to your pants?" I laugh. What a riot! Poor dude.

"…Would you believe I was mugged?" Minato says as he sighs.

I notice that Akihiko-senpai is looking at Minato and then the pants that he's holding. "I could teach you how to fix them it you want."

"Sure, thanks senpai." Minato nods and hands the ruined pants to Akihiko, who's already rethreading a fresh needle.

I can't believe this! First we're talking about bonding, and playing video games, eating ramen, reading manga, and maybe picking up some chicks. Now, I'm here, getting lessons on how to fix my pants. By Gekkoukan High's Golden Boy too! There's only so much a guy can take. "Uh, _hello_? What about our manly team bonding?"

"Isn't this bonding?" Akihiko asks.

"We are having a sewing session together…so yeah. It's considered bonding." Minato says with a shrug. How can he be so calm?

"Screw this! I'm going out for some _real_ male bonding with the manliest guy I know." I say as I busted the door open. "So long, amigos."

"…I feel bad for the person who gets stuck with Junpei's crazy ideas." Akihiko sighs.

"Agreed." Minato says.

Some time later… 

"NO!" Shinjiro-senpai yells as he glares at me.

"But why not? Come on senpai. It'll be fun!"

"No, means no. I don't have time for this shit" Shinjiro rolls his eyes.

"But bonding is just what guys do!" I say, trying to persuade him to join me in the fun.

"If you want to _bond _so much, do it with Aki or that new guy Minato." Shinjiro says getting more and more irritated with me as befits an angry, axe-toting, shadow-slaying badass.

"I tried but they're having sewing lessons. SEWING! Come on senpai. You're unbelievably manly- you know how boring sewing is for manly men such as us!" I protest.

"Not my problem." Shinjiro says as he looks through his kitchen cabinets for something.

"So what are you doing Senpai?" I ask. Knowing him it's something unimaginably hardcore. He's probably gonna eat a raw egg before getting into a fist fight with a bull. He'll win by ripping off its horns and head butting it. Afterwards he'll go drink straight vodka and pick up unbelievably hot chicks.

Shinjiro pulls down a bag of sugar and sets it down beside an empty bowl and a carton of cream. "I'm making cream puffs for Charla."

See! Cream puffs. That's so manly! … Wait. What? "CREAM PUFFS?"

"You got a problem with that?"

Well he's threatening me, that's a start.

"N-no. Er… um, why?"

Shinjiro shrugs, puts on a plain white apron. "I like to cook and I owe her one."

Ah, he owes a pretty girl a favor. That's manly. Maybe he's trying to pick her up. "Heeeeyyy, I see how it is. Very suave, senpai. So, uh, what d'you owe her for anyways?"

Shinjiro laughs "Suave? Not for Charla. She's a friend. She picked up some stuff for me the other day that's all. Look, kid, you just gonna stand there all day? You can leave or you can help."

Cooking, sewing… man, what is the world coming to? "Er, no thanks senpai. I… um… I'm gonna go… do… something."

What am I gonna do? Guess I should head over to the mall or something. There's gotta be somebody at the arcade today. Still, I was really looking forward to bonding with the guys. I'm a pretty open minded dude, if I say so myself, but cooking and sewing? Man. That's too much for me.

I'm at the arcade in no time flat. Doesn't look like there are too many people here though. Man. Oh well. But, hey! That's Akihiko and Minato isn't it? They must have decided that sewing really was lame and that they wanted to come beat up pixilated bad guys instead! "Hey, Akihiko, Minato! Over here!"

"Hi Junpei, where'd you go?" Minato asks me as they come over.

"I went to go find Senpai but he's um…" Do I tell them about his shameful cream puff cooking? Better preserve his dignity "Passed out on the couch."

Akihiko makes a sound of disgust and shakes his head, "Typical."

"You guys here for the arcade?" I ask.

"Nah," Akihiko shakes his head, "We're going for massages."

Un… believable. No way. I'm not hearing this. I'm dreaming.

"What? What's with the face? I am _injured_." Akihiko says with a dignified air.

"You broke a rib, you didn't pull a muscle!" I protest. "And YOU!" I round on Minato and point at him with an accusing finger "What's your excuse?"

Minato blinks innocently "I like massages. I find them relaxing."

"Besides Junpei, it's good to get the knots worked out of your muscles. You have to take good care of your body." Akihiko says. How can he be so calm? "You should come with us."

"Oho no, no no no. I am not going to the spa. I am going to the arcade and then I'm going to fight shadows and I won't shower and my manly BO will attract all the ladies." Maybe I am getting a little too wound up about this.

I take off my hat and run a hand through my hair with a sigh. "I'm sorry guys. I was just really looking forward to bonding with you guys and doing something cool today. I didn't… really have the spa or sewing or cooking or any of that stuff in mind."

Akihiko shrugs "Well, come on. All of the masseuses at this place are girls- and some of them are really pretty. You never know man; you might get a cute one." He sounds calm but his face has gone all red. That fox! This must have been his plan all along. Hah. Knew it.

"Yeah, hey, sure. That maybe does kinda sound OK. Let's do it!" I put my hat back on and grin.

I've never been to the spa. It's this clean little shop a few blocks down from the mall. When you walk in the door there's this overwhelming assault of scents. Seriously, it's like the owner went and found a half dozen of their favorite smells and painted the walls with them. They also clean out your pocket pretty quick too, it's unbelievable.

But ah! Here are some of the masseuses. Pretty girl with weird make-up, OK, but mmmmm wouldn't mind her working out my newly developed back problems. Maybe it'll be chronic. Minato nabs her. All right, no big deal, it's cool, here's another one. Some blonde western chick, but she's so tall- look at her legs! Wooowww…

"Hello Maggie." Akihiko says, wandering off with her. No WAY! He's on a first name basis with some older western senoriiitaaa. What a man!

I can hardly wait! I pay and wait for my masseuse. She'll be gorgeous, I just know.

"Hello Sir, I am Olga. Come vith me please." Suddenly there's this impressive mountain of flesh towering over me. Is this my masseuse? No way. No WAY. This is because I didn't want to sew isn't it? That Akihiko! He did this on purpose, Oh God.

Several minutes later…

"Well, and then I was all like 'Go out with me' and she made this face and was all like" I pitch my voice really high and squeaky, "'I won't go out with you, you smell bad' and I was like," I pitch my voice back to its natural manly bass, "'whaaat? Baby it's my manly odor I get from working out so much'. She ran off! Can you believe it?"

"You don't worry about it, Junpei, she is crazy." Olga says. "You find nice girl with appreciation for your man scent and you forget about this other girl."

I've never felt so relaxed before! Large and hammy though Olga may be she has an unbelievable talent as a masseuse. Still it's time to go. We shake hands and I promise to come and get another massage sometime.

I meet back with Akihiko and Minato outside the shop and the city has never stunk so beautifully before. "Man! I never thought I'd miss the smell of fish so much!"

Minato nods "That… that was a scent marathon in there. Too much."

"Yeah, well." Akihiko shrugs, "I don't even notice it after I'm in there for a little while. Hey, Junpei man, bad luck. I saw your masseuse."

"Whatcha talking about man? Olga was great!" I exclaim.

"O…k. Didn't know you liked that kind of woman but…" Akihiko is red in the face again.

"What? No! Nooooo, no. Not like that. What? Is that the only reason you come to the masseuse Akihiko? To get felt up by pretty women? Shame on you." I scold him righteously.

"I do NOT!" Akihiko protests.

Minato is walking off already "Well come on you guys, I'm getting hungry. Let's go back to the dorm. Maybe the girls will be back."

The girls? What do we tell them? We were sewing and then we went to the spa? Oh… Man.

Luckily they're not there when we get back. Minato heads into the kitchen to heat us up some instant ramen and Akihiko and I sit on the couches in the lounge. Akihiko has left his sewing stuff out and he returns to mending his boxing glove. Before too long there's a knock on the door. Even though Akihiko is busy he's still up to answer it before I am.

"Shinji? What's up?" Akihiko asks.

"I just made some stuff for Charla. She's too much work to track down on my own but I figure you spend an awful lot of time with her and so it'd be easier for you to get 'em to her." Yep. That's Senpai.

Akihiko is red in the face again. Dude gets embarrassed pretty often. It must be exhausting. "I know what this is about Shinji, and for the millionth time, butt out!" he says through gritted teeth.

"Just take the pastries, will you?"

Akihiko is silent for a moment. "… Fine." He takes the box from Shinjiro and they just stand around not talking for a while.

"Hey Senpai!" I shout from the couch "You should come hang with us for a bit!"

"… I'm busy."

"No you're not." Akihiko says tensely. "Just go."

"Nah, man! Don't go! We got plans tonight! Big plans! You gotta come and hang with us; we'll make you some instant ramen and everything!" I shout again.

"You're eating instant ramen?" Senpai sounds ticked. "Have you eaten it yet? I'll cook something for you. You can't just eat any old stuff all the time."

Akihiko is perplexed but stands aside to let Shinjiro come in. Senpai makes a b-line for the kitchen and Akihiko just stands there with the door in one hand and the box of pastries cradled in the crook of his other arm. He shoots me an annoyed look.

"What?" I ask, "You guys are buds right? Senpai's a cool dude."

He just makes another face that I don't really get and heads for the stairs. "I'm tired. I'm going to bed. Good night." He says.

"Whaaaat?" I jump up off the couch "But you don't even know what my big plan for the night is."

"Goodnight." Akihiko repeats firmly and disappears up the stairs.

Fine. We'll just go get him later. I know where he sleeps.

I join Minato and Shinjiro in the kitchen. Shinjiro has already started frying up some eggs and Minato is sadly pouring out the reheated ramen instant noodles. "So, Minato, Senpai, big plans tonight."

Minato looks at me with wide eyes- well, wider eyes than normal- and Senpai ignores me. "The girls are still out right? This is a golden opportunity, men."

"For what?" Minato asks me. Poor, innocent boy.

"Panty raids." I say decisively. 

Shinjiro does stop now, and glances back at me with an arched eyebrow. "You're joking right?"

"No! Why would I be joking?" 

Shinjiro shrugs and goes back to what he's doing. "I think you'll find women's underwear less exciting than you think you will."

Spoken like a true, nonchalant and experienced man. He is, as always, my idol. "Well it's not about the panties by themselves; it's imagining the girls in them."

"Suit yourself. I don't care." Shinjiro says as he puts the food on the table.

"But imagine _Kaguya_ in them." I purr, putting on my most suave of all faces- and I have a few.

Shinjiro shakes his head and chuckles. "I've seen hers."

I shouldn't be surprised, because it's Senpai, but K-CHAN? She doesn't really fit the sexy, experienced older woman type but I guess it must be in her there somewhere… deep down. Wow. K-Chan, you FOX.

"Well, Senpai, think of it like a prank then. We get their panties and we sneak into the school and hang them around everywhere." I look at them with eyes of pure manliness.

"That's the stupidest idea I've ever heard. They'll know we did it and then they'll just do something worse to us." Minato says irritably. Kill joy.

"Oh but it'll be so WORTH it!" I lean back in the chair and throw my arms up in the air enthusiastically.

They're both quiet and when I look back up I just catch Shinjiro and Minato whispering something to each other. They stop when they see me and Shinjiro turns off the stove top. Minato smiles, "We'll do it."

BONUS!

"You better put that food in a doggie bag, Senpai. It's mission time!" I say as I help gather the food to give to Minato to put in the refrigerator.

"Alright, everyone huddle. I'll give the plans." I say and Senpai and Minato stay where they are.

"Okay, so Minato you and I will take Yuka-tan's room. Shinjiro-senpai, you take K-chan's room. Got it?" I commanded. Man, I'm pretty excited. This is gonna be the highlight of our entire manhood.

"Wait, who's going to take Mitsuru's room?" Minato asks.

"I got it covered. Now, hurry before the girls get back. Minato go on ahead of me, I'll catch up with you." I say and we head our separate ways. I head to Akihiko-senpai's room. I wouldn't want him to miss out on all the action. He needs it more than any of us. "Hey Senpai, wake up!" I throw open his door.

"What the hell? Junpei what do you want?" Akihiko grumbles from his spot on the bed. He's reading a book.

"You're missing out on the panty raiding, man. Come on, we saved Mitsuru's room for you." I say as I try to yank Senpai out of bed. Unsuccessfully. I find my ass on the floor with a stinging feeling on my nose. "Owwwwww."

"No. Not happening. I don't want to see Mitsuru's panties." Akihiko growls with the reddest face I've ever seen. He's so full of shit. "Stop harassing me."

"This is a once in a life time opportunity. Now or never!" I say as I get up and try to grab his book away from him. Unsuccessfully, again. I'm on the floor again and after a short moment the book has catapulted into the space between my eyes and I'm seeing stars.

"No means no! Get the hell out of my room!" Akihiko-senpai shouts, grabbing me by the collar and dragging me out of his room.

"I see how it is…you're too scared to do it. I can see the headlines now, 'Gekkoukan High's Golden Boy a wimp.'" I gasp, grabbing at my collar so he doesn't choke me to death.

"Forget it Junpei."

"Backing down from a challenge? The Akihiko I know would never- oof" he has tossed me out the door.

"This isn't a challenge." Akihiko says, but he's losing confidence I can tell.

I rub at the red marks on my neck and clear my throat, "It tests your courage, determination, and charm when the ladies are distraught about their lost panties. I can't think of anything more challenging!"

Akihiko considers it and then slowly glares at me. "You're right. I'll do it."

Ah, reverse psychology…works like a charm. "Alright, let's do this thing!" I cheer and the both of us head to the girl's floor. I point to Mitsuru's room and Akihiko-senpai goes without a single word.

"Hey, how's everything going?" I ask Minato in Yuka-tan's room. Dude, I'm actually in Yuka-tan's room…looking for her panties. Awesomeness! I've never felt manlier in my life!

"I can't find her underwear drawer…" Minato shrugs.

"Well, it's gotta be here somewhere. Keep looking, I'm gonna check on how Senpai is doing." I say and I head to K-chan's room.

"Senpai, found anything?" I ask.

Shinjiro motions to the open drawer full of panties. "It's always the top drawer." 

"Great job, Senpai! I knew we could count on you!" I was right about him being the manliest guy I know. "Quick get as much as you can, Senpai. Before the girls get back or else our mission will be ruined! I have to check on Minato again." He rolls his eyes but nods and I run to see if Minato has found Yuka-tan's underwear.

"FOUND IT!" I heard from across the hall. That's means…oh yeah, baby! Yuka-tan's panties are now claimed in the name of manliness.

"Awesome, dude! Snag as much as you can. I'm going to Mitsuru's room to help Akihiko-senpai." I say and I high-five Minato.

"You got Akihiko-senpai in on this too?" Minato sounds almost concerned. Must be for my health cause he knows how violent Akihiko can be.

I rub my nose. "I know, I know…"

Then, swiftly like a ninja, I rush to Mitsuru-senpai's room. It's like visiting a mansion or something. Dang, I wish my room was like this. I spot Senpai looking in a drawer so I skip over to see the last bounty of the day.

"Man, oh man…" I stand by Akihiko and behold the most luxurious lingerie I've ever seen. Akihiko resembles undercooked steak. Suddenly I hear the door downstairs click open and there are voices coming from downstairs.

"Hey, guys! We're back!" That was Yuka-tan's voice. Holy crap!

I quickly snatch some panties and make a break for it, fumbling with the lock on the door. Akihiko is still in there, yes, but he's not moving and I can't wait for him. Hopefully he'll have the good sense to jump out the window before Mitsuru opens the lock.

"Every man for himself!" I say quietly. I don't see Shinjiro or Minato anywhere, but Yuka-tan and K-chan's rooms are closed and locked so they must have already run for it. I shove Mitsuru's panties into my coat pocket and run for my room. I can hear the voices from downstairs.

"Shinjiro? It is nice to see you again, albeit late. Are you here with Akihiko?" Mitsuru asks.

Shinjiro is downstairs with their panties hidden in his coat? WHAT A MAN!

"Sort of. I brought him the cream puffs I made for Charla, so he'd have an excuse to go and see her." Shinjiro says and he and Mitsuru laugh a little.

"I doubt he said so, but I'm sure he appreciates the sentiment Shinjiro." Mitsuru says.

"Yum, cream puffs!" K-chan exclaims.

"So, what have you been up too since we've been gone?" Yuka-tan asks.

"Nothing really…" Minato says.

"Nothing huh…where's Stupei?" Yuka-tan asks, I can hear her moving around.

.

"He went to bed early. He went to the spa and it tuckered him out." Minato says. EVIL. That treacherous guy! Have they been planning this from the beginning?

The girls laugh, some delicately, some- Yuka-tan- letting out something resembling a shocked guffaw. Oh. They can laugh. It was manly. They don't even know.

I reach my room and close the door quietly. I can still hear their voices but they're muffled. I hide the panties under my mattress and relax on to the bed. I worry a little about Akihiko-Senpai but… 

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Mitsuru screams from downstairs. "Akihiko, what are you doing?" I hear a gasp and another scream. "Akihiko, I'm going to execute you!"

"You perv!" Yukari screams.

"We'll never forgive you!" Kaguya yells.

"Wait, wait! It's not my fault!" Akihiko says, sounding strangled.

I wince a little but can't help but laugh. It is pretty funny.

"WILL THE MADNESS NEVER END?" Akihiko lets out a blood curdling scream.

No, and neither will the _man_-ness. HAHAHA, Oh, I slay me. 


	10. The Ebbed Man I

**Chapter 9**

_The Ebbed Man I_

_Comments in general- sorry it took us so long to write a new chapter, life has been a little bit hectic and unfortunately it looks as though it will be that way again soon too *sigh* but we'll write as often and as much as we can and hopefully there won't be so many long gaps._  
_Dropletofsour- Of course say what you think! So long as you're not flaming, which you're not, constructive criticism or honest thought is absolutely welcome. What kind of egotist would I be to only want to hear praise all the time? Anyhow, yes, I have not actually played the game all the way through as of yet (I'm waiting for it to come out on psp- 10 days!) but I check for validity with my co-writer and I've seen some key scenes that have allowed me to actually write seriously. So, in that regard, I guess I'll have to apologize to slipping out of character- I try hard not to but I freely admit Junpei is one of my lesser understood characters, simply because I've seen so little of him. Hopefully after I've played for a while I won't make such bad gaffs. However, the chapter was intended as a departure from drama and was a little bit exaggerated with intent- it was meant to be taken more lightly than the others. I do not see Junpei as a one dimensional character, I simply took an observed characteristic of his and stuck with it throughout the chapter. Think of it as a mood. I do not consider Junpei to be a complete, one-track-mind flake, and I don't intend to write him that way throughout the fic. Anyhow, thanks very much for your thoughts (particularly the bit about off-key narration, part of the reason I switch POV's is to practice getting different characters voices down right and this is a clear indication that I need to work on my Junpei! I hope you'll continue reading anyway haha. _  
_Disclaimer; we own nothing yada yada yada (which we also don't own, sorry Seinfeld) Props to Shakespeare as well, the passage is from Antony and Cleopatra but no I'm not properly citing it because I'm highly lazy : )._

Mitsuru's POV  
  
"And here, Caesar says; 'I should have known no less.  
It hath been taught us from the primal state  
That he which is was wished until he were,  
And the ebbed man, ne'er loved til ne'er worth love,  
Comes deared by being lacked. This common body,  
Like a vagabond flag upon the stream,  
Goes to, and back, lackeying the varying tide,  
To rot itself with motion." I look up now and then from my book to gage their reactions as I recite the passage.

The rain patters against the window persistently, a soft song is being played by the old café radio in the back, and we are surrounded by a myriad mix of conversations and active cutlery. I mark my place in the book and close it gently. It is nice being here on Sunday as I believe that it is necessary to avoid stress like the plague- for it truly is just as deadly as disease would be.

It is late afternoon already and I have wasted my day with Takeba, Charla, Akihiko and Shinjiro milling around town aimlessly. We came here, to the café, when the weather took a turn for the worse and have been here ever since.

Akihiko puts his chin on his hand and frowns a little, stirring his coffee with a spoon absently. "That's politics, right?"

"Who knows? Old English translated to Japanese is garbage." Charla mutters irritably, grabbing her head and pouting. She's just bothered because she can't understand it.

In the booth beside us Shinjiro and Takeba are speaking of somewhat else. I try to look at them covertly- Takeba has been quite tense around me lately- and I am relieved to see that they are both visibly relaxed and Takeba herself is actually smiling. I can't help but smile a little myself.

"You're just bitter because you don't get it." Akihiko says to Charla, echoing my thoughts from earlier.

"Ohhhhhhhhh," Charla slumps forward on to the table, "You were not told to not be honest? That's not socially good. People don't like to be told their faults all the time. It's not polite."

Akihiko laughs and nudges her with his elbow, "And you shouldn't slouch. That's not polite either."

"I believe you are correct, Akihiko, in context at any rate. Caesar is contemplating the will of the people regarding both his popularity and the popularity of Pompey- that much is true." I interject, best to stop them now before the topic changes irrevocably.

Charla straightens up and nods at me with a mock-serious expression. "I concur. Indubitably."

Akihiko nearly chokes on his coffee and nudges Charla again, who crinkles her nose and grins. They're not focused today, apparently. That's all right, it is Sunday, and we don't have to do school work. I, however, do like Shakespeare. I should like to learn English someday, perhaps after I have become fluent in French. Or… perhaps not. Too many western languages. Chinese would be interesting as well.

"The ebbed man is interesting." Shinjiro murmurs from beside me. 

I look over at him and smile. He does not lack intelligence, true, but I am certain that he has never been interested in old western literature. This is likely simply for my benefit. I glance over at Takeba, who has been monopolized by Charla. I look back at Shinjiro and smile, "How so?"

"The bit about… not being loved until he isn't worth it anymore and how that love only comes after he isn't around anymore. Can't say I get the first bit, but I've seen that second bit in effect once or twice. Lots of people only want what they can't get." Shinjiro says.

"I believe he means that he does not deserve love because by the time they want him back he has ceased to do things that make him worthy of love- he is simply absent and in the memory of others he is what he achieved although he is no longer capable of such acts any longer. Perhaps it has to do with age, or it may pertain simply to the existence of self in a certain time as it is true that the self is rarely solid and unchanging."

I think of Shinjiro as I say it, and then- strangely- of Minato. One is that man who never ceases to change- who is wanted by the world but only in his absence and only in an illusory apparition of who he once was, generated by the fancies of the past and the needs of the present. Him, the ebbed man. The other is anathema to such a character- a man who is forever solid in a world that never ceases to change- although how the world should react to him is unknown or, at least, undescribed by Shakespeare. A man unchanging….

I am distracted by a loud exclamation of disgust from Takeba and a hysterical bout of laughter from Charla.

"Do you feel better?" Charla asks, wiping the tears from her eyes.

Takeba looks nauseous and promptly spits out an unidentified circular white object into her empty water glass. "I feel _minty, _but not better."

"Well that is all right, I feel better, so at least some one got something out of this." Charla laughs. Akihiko shoots her a reproachful look.

Apart from Junpei- who was caught trying to set up a prominent display of Takeba's stolen undergarments in the school- everyone has been quite careful of hurting Takeba's feelings. It is understood, or at least intuited, by most that she is in a delicate state of mind after her experience in Tartarus.

Junpei… When I confronted him about his distinct lack of sensitivity he became defensive, naturally. He spoke, rather eloquently, of how being oversensitive was counterproductive for her. His belief is that restoring a sense of normalcy for her is tantamount and that 'tiptoeing' around her all the time is only reminiscent of our belief that she is weak and needs to be coddled. I… disagree, still, I think… But I am beginning to have doubts.

Takeba is smiling again, apparently egged into good humor by the laughter around her. She looks over at me and her smile disappears and so all at once my doubt intensifies.

The stakes are far too high though. How can I send her back there to confront Death? I cannot. I _will _not, even though it may mean I am to become vilified.

I match Takeba's gaze and raise my chin, nearly imperceptibly. She blinks and is then distracted by something Akihiko says. I turn my gaze away just as slowly, staring into my coffee cup before taking a long sip. Outside, the rain is beginning to relent.

"Well, I'm leaving." Shinjiro says, abruptly, standing up and crumpling his paper coffee cup. "Takeba?"

Takeba nods and stands up, excusing herself to us.

"Where are you two going?" Charla asks with that mischievous 'I-suspect-sex' tone that forever permeates her discourse.

"Just home." Takeba says, though something about her makes me suspicious.

"Be cautious… and safe." I say, and Takeba looks away from me with a pinched look on her face.

Shinjiro looks down at me with an inscrutable expression. But he nods at me and says good-bye to Charla and Akihiko, following Takeba out of the café.

I turn away from them and finish my coffee, gradually letting myself be lulled into casual, trivial conversation with Charla and Akihiko. In the end we remain in the café for nigh on an hour and when we leave the sky is rusted by dusk and the rain has disappeared entirely.

When Akihiko and I arrive back at the dorm I say good night to him and, plagued by an unsure but unpleasant feeling in my heart, I knock on Takeba's door. "Takeba? It's Mitsuru, are you there?"

I am answered only by silence, which disappoints me. I am about to say something to her when Minato comes down the stairs and spots me. I turn to look at him and inquire as to Takeba's whereabouts. I am disturbed when Minato shrugs.

"She's not here, but I don't know where she is." Minato says.

I thank him and can't help but look back at Takeba's door hopefully. I have a suspicion I know where she is but… There is nothing I can do. I must trust in her or… at the very least, I must place my trust in Shinjiro. Or… I look down at my hands and shake my head. I cannot be idle.

I head to my room and set down my book of Shakespeare, picking up instead my evoker. I hold the gun aloft for a moment and then carefully holster it. I will protect them, regardless of whether or no they will it. I sit down and wait for the Dark Hour.

**  
**


	11. Knightlight

**Chapter 10**  
_Knight-Light_

_(Disclaimer: We own nothing)_

_Yukari's POV_

It's raining.

That's all, really. Wonder if it'll let up. Maybe tomorrow there will be sunshine. Yes, it's very humid. Oh God… I'm having forced weather small talk with _myself _now.

…

…

Well, I have to think about something. Step. Step. Step. If I stand still and wait for the gravel to stop crunching underneath my feet I can hear myself breathing through my nostrils, the rain, the blood pounding through my head. Maybe… that's my heart beat, down there somewhere.

"Come on."

A familiar but alien voice. Crunch, crunch, crunch, foot forward, shift weight, progress. Rain hammers down on my head, my eyelids blink instinctively to protect my eyes. The world keeps spinning without me. Guess nothing waits.

The crunching of gravel is replaced by the click of my shoes on hard pavement. I keep my head down to watch my feet and protect my eyes from the rain. I don't know where I am. I could be anywhere. But there are my feet, still moving though I can barely feel them, and the road that keeps going on. Maybe it will never stop. Maybe neither will I. And some day I'll lift my head up and be somewhere I don't recognize.

…

…

…

"When I was a kid," ….. …. … … .. Was he ever a kid? … … .. "I was afraid of the dark."

… Breathe. Step. Rain. Heart. Breathe. "Oh."

"Had a night-light. Couldn't sleep without it. I remember going somewhere once and I couldn't sleep because it was too dark. I… dunno. It was scary. Thought creatures were waiting for me to let down my guard and then they'd rip my arms off. So I never let down my guard."

This should be registering with me. I think… was I ever afraid of the dark? No that's stupid. Why is he telling me this?

"Had to sleep sometime though. So what? Can't let the monsters get me but I have to let my guard down sometime. Aki got me a night light… er, well. A knight-light. With a k. It was… shaped like a knight. Couple a months later it broke but it didn't matter. I trusted the knight to keep the monsters away."

…. "Oh."

"My point here is that I learned to trust in… well, not someone, but something. I learned trust. And because I trusted it I was able to sleep and get over my fear. I could never have done it alone."

…

…

I look up. It's still raining. Maybe… it will be sunny tomorrow.

"Hey." There's a hand on my shoulder. It squeezes me. Hurts a little. "You payin' attention?"

Look at him. I recognize him. Shinjiro. Oh… "You're asking me to trust you."

"Yeah. Or someone. Mitsuru, maybe."

Mitsuru… who… no. I shake my head. I'm so tired. "Can't."

Shinjiro shrugs, takes his hand away. "Well trust me then."

… "OK."

"Do you trust me?"

"I trust you."

"Then let's go."

The road has stopped and there are a few steps. Tiles. Doors. The rain is distant here. More stairs. And more and more.

"Look up."

I do. My knees feel weak before it even registers what I'm looking at. Of course, I knew somewhere that this is where the road was leading me. I wonder… if the road leads out of it too. That hand is grabbing at my elbow again and I'm being dragged forward.

A shadow, ahead. Black, miserable, some form of… melting and reshaping. Bones forming and then twisting horribly… becoming… becoming… liquid… ugh… "Nngg, Let me go." I struggle with the hand. He shoves me forward roughly.

Sockets form in the liquid mass and the spot where eyes are supposed to be peer at me blindly. A hand forms and reaches for me… slowly…

"Persona." I whisper hoarsely.

The strong wind cuts through the shadow as a thousand blades might and I am lifted to my feet as the liquid loses shape and becomes a puddle at my feet.

I stare down the hall. There are more of them. Countless thousands more of them, even if I can't see them now. "I want to go now." I murmur.

"OK." Shinjiro says, and leaves without waiting for me.

"…OK." I echo him, and take a deep breath. "It's Ok. I'm Ok."

The myriad weights tugging at my heart groan as I turn my back on Tartarus but it seems… as though my heart is a little bit lighter. Even if it is just a little. When I walk outside I am able to focus on the world above the road. 


	12. Expensive Pizza and Cheap Wine

**Chapter 11**  
_Expensive Pizza and Cheap Wine_

_Disclaimer: We own nothing._

"Why are you working out all the time?"

"I'm busy Charla."

"Working out."

"That's busy."

"I don't have time for you right now."

"Well then I'll be someone else and you can have time for them. How about… the tooth fairy?"

"I'll see you tomorrow."

"Oh! You don't lose teeth anymore. Er, I can be…" The door shuts gently in her face. "… Angelina Jolie…"

Charla lets out a soft sigh and runs a hand through her hair. She leans her forehead against the door, eyes drifting closed. Her head is aching awfully, still. That's what you get when your boyfriend likes cheap wine and expensive pizza. Over stuffed and hung over for no good reason. Yes. She and Dave were the epitome of class.

The door opens and nearly sends her sprawling.

"You're upset." Akihiko says matter-of-factly, a distracted but persistently patient expression on his face. He is, after all, the master of dealing with such sulking, martyrdom prone insufferables as Shinjiro. One learns, eventually.

Charla pouts at first, realizes that makes her look upset, frowns instead and becomes exasperated with her inability to revert to a happy expression. So much for lying. "Yes! Yes, I am upset, take me somewhere."

"I'm covered in sweat. Let me change and shower first."

"No! No, no, I don't have time, I don't care, just come as you are."

Akihiko throws on a jacket and splashes some water on his face to wash away the sweat. They then walk down into the middle of town, losing themselves in the press of people. Akihiko is reminded of the waves… ebb and flow, ebb and flow. The crowd does much the same thing.

There's a market in town today. Some of the local fishermen and farmers have set up fresh goods and it seems as though today, Sunday morning, business is bustling. Charla ducks into a stand that is covered in dried flowers, pretends to scan the fresh produce. Akihiko pushes the hanging flowers away and ducks in behind her, wishing strongly now that he had taken that shower… people are looking at him.

Charla doesn't look at him, bows her head. "I've been thinking."

Akihiko laughs, nudges her playfully with his elbow. "Is that why you're upset?"

She shakes her head, can't help but smile a little. "Ha-ha."

They leave the stall, become part of the sea of people; two unimportant particles of water that make up an ever-moving ocean that has no purpose or direction. Just movement, as demanded by wind and moon.

"I was thinking about you and Mitsuru." Charla says, her voice just barely audible above the muttering of the crowd.

"What?" Akihiko asks, genuinely surprised.

Charla stops and turns to him, two clots of irritated people moving around them. She nods slowly once or twice. "Yes, I think… You're too fashionable for her! Together, your sense of style would be too overwhelming. Everyone would be jealous of you and never speak to you and you don't want social exile do you?"

Akihiko shakes his head and laughs, though the implication has made him go red in the face. "I could just stop wearing scarves."

"And sweater vests." Charla adds miserably.

"And sweater vests." Akihiko agrees.

"You would give up your sweater vests for her! Ohhhhhh now I really am depressed." Charla turns away from him and crosses her arms stubbornly.

As Akihiko struggles through thoughts of dating Mitsuru, and all that that might entail, to try and find some calm and collected words Charla turns back round with squinty eyes and a mischievous smile. "Actually you're still too stylish like that. You'll just have to give up all clothes always. Then maybe the collective style will be tolerable to the rest of us unfortunates."

Akihiko chokes on his words and splutters incomprehensibly for a moment but Charla has already left him to go and examine another market stall.

He catches up to her and follows her gaze to a bucket of live crabs behind the counter. Charla reaches up behind her and pats him on the cheek briefly. "I am just making the fun, of course, I do not mean to upset you."

"Pity. You're very good at it."

"Ha-ha." Charla pulls her hand back and hides it in her sleeve. "But seriously. You really have need to talk to her."

"Why's that?" Akihiko asks as they move down the stall to examine the rest of the fish- and assorted sea critters.

"There was this beautiful, gorgeous, amazing guy that I knew once." Charla starts.

Akihiko rolls his eyes, it's going to be one of _those _stories again.

"And we were completely ogling each other, all the time, but he never said anything about it and I never said anything about it and… well, to save your ears the story, we ended up hating each other." Charla looks over her shoulder at Akihiko and shrugs "It's one of my regrets."

"I do not _ogle _Mitsuru." Akihiko grumbles indignantly, which earns him an equally indignant shove from Charla.

She frowns at him and wags a finger in his general direction "_I _am still reminiscing about beautiful men, you can't start interpreting yet. It's very distracting. And besides, you're missing the point. If you are not honest and do not communicate with each other you can really do some damage entre vous."

Akihiko pauses, pretends to be very interested in the fish in front of him. The eye is large and has the texture of jelly and is staring at him intently. His mind wanders to Mitsuru and he again persists in thinking indignantly that he does not ogle. For that matter, when has Mitsuru ever ogled him? He looks down at Charla whose face has reverted back into that childish pout she's so fond of. He reaches down and taps her chin up with his finger, grinning when she glares at him.

"I am _serious_." Charla protests, but the kid-pout ruins it.

"Oh yeah?" Akihiko reaches down and pushes her cheeks in for the fish-face effect. He laughs "There. You blend right in. Maybe I can sell you for a bit of pocket money."

Charla swats his hands away and huffs loudly "Ohhhh, you are always mocking me. You listen now!" She grabs his face in her hands and peers at him intently, which just reminds him of the fish and starts him laughing again. Frustrated, she pinches his cheek roughly. "Tell Mitsuru how you feel or you might end up mutually bitter with each other. You. Do. Not. Want. That."

Akihiko groans and turns back to the fish and chews on his lip a little. "Why were you upset about a thing like this anyways?"

"Stop changing the subject." Charla grumbles. "And anyways we're in the way. Come on."

They push their way through the crowd towards the edge of the market and then pause before parting ways.

"Do you feel better?" Akihiko asks.

Charla shrugs "Better and worse."

"Feel better. Forget the worse." Akihiko smiles and murmurs a good bye before going back to the dorm and his interrupted work out.

Charla wanders around town for a little while, musing, and then goes back to her apartment where her boyfriend is still in bed and there's a box of expensive pizza sitting out on the counter top next to a half empty bottle of cheap wine. 


	13. Avoiding Fashion Implosions

**Chapter 12  
**_Avoiding Fashion Implosions_

_Mmmm, this chapter certainly needs more editing but my job is murdering my free time and mental health and my co-writer is harassing me to update it so… well here it is anyways. Sorry? I may come back and refine it, along with a few other hiccoughs in earlier chapters, when I'm done with the fic. By the by- I have played through (most of- like 95% of) P3P so the iffiness in OOCness should be lessened.  
Droplet- All right Yeah, I don't know. I think it's somewhat subject to taste, I've heard varying opinions about the Yukari chapter.  
poetwhoknowsit- Ah right on. Yeah, been a while since I've looked at that chapter but I think I mentioned she was doing the equivalent of crunches to keep from overwhelming blood rush to the head but meh, it doesn't really matter :P. Glad you're enjoying it.  
_

_Disclaimer; I own nothing. _

"We still need to go to explore Tartarus, you know." Akihiko said. He and Mitsuru were sitting in the lounge, listening to rain pound against the window panes. Yukari and Junpei had stayed in as well, but weren't in ear shot, but the poor weather hadn't stopped Kaguya and Minato from disappearing. Minato- who knows? The guy was something of a mystery and he never said where he went. Kaguya, though, was easy. She had gone to bother Shinjiro. Again.

Mitsuru marked her page in her book and looked up at Akihiko. "I agree." She looked uncomfortable, though. "It is a luxury we cannot afford, however, as you are injured and Takeba is not fit. Minato and Iori alone would be insufficient and, as an individual must remain outside to provide support and none other is qualified of our group, I cannot aid them directly in combat. I'm afraid we must simply wait for you to heal."

Akihiko cursed his ribs silently and went back to mending his boxing gloves which, truthfully, did not need the attention as he had not been permitted to box either. After a moment he frowned and looked up at Mitsuru, "What about Kaguya?"

"Pardon me?" Mitsuru marked her page again and looked up, distracted.

"Kaguya. She could take Takeba's place for now. She's not SEES, I know, but she's been to Tartarus and she's capable. She lives with us, too, so she knows what's going on. Why not ask her for her help for now?" Akihiko said.

Mitsuru shook her head sharply and rested her chin on her hand. "We would be better off asking Shinjiro than Kaguya. She will not aid us."

Akihiko frowned, "Yeah, and why is that? Why is she even here? I mean, I like Kaguya don't get me wrong, but she's not SEES. Why does the Chairman want her in our dorm?"

Mitsuru smiled sadly, "Don't you remember? It's only been two years..."

"Of course I remember!" Akihiko snapped, "But I don't see how THAT has anything to do with why Kaguya is in our dorm."

The door opened and a gust of wind helped a shivering Kaguya and several bouts of rain into the lounge. The girl closed the door quickly behind her and pulled down the hood of her ridiculously bright yellow rain coat. "Pleasant morning." She said, smiling, to Akihiko and Mitsuru.

Akihiko muttered something in response, nodded, and sulkily returned to mending his already mended gloves. Mitsuru closed her book and looked up at Kaguya as she sat down at the free armchair, still wringing the water out of her hair.

"Good morning, Kaguya." Mitsuru greeted her politely. "You are well?"

"Mmm." Kaguya smoothed out her skirt, despairing inwardly at how miserable the pleats looked while wet. "Shinjiro wasn't there, sadly, but I did meet some of my friends out upon the road and we went puddle hopping. I think I ruined my socks..."

Akihiko looked up abruptly, "Will you go with Minato and Iori to Tartarus for us?"

Mitsuru shot him an icy glare and prepared to smooth over the inevitable damage but Kaguya beat her to the punch.

"I think not..." Kaguya said primly, fiddling once more with her hair. "What for?"

"As you are aware Takeba is not mentally fit to enter Tartarus and we believe that it is too dangerous for Iori and Minato to explore alone. Akihiko seemed to think that you would go with them until he healed." Mitsuru explained slowly, her eyes still trained on Akihiko as if she were preparing to pounce if he were to so much as open his mouth.

"I see." Kaguya answered, "You know I'm not interested as my concerns are few and unrelated. However..." She looked at Mitsuru sympathetically "This is... important to you isn't it?"

Mitsuru smiled slightly, "As ever."

"It's important for everyone Kaguya. It's the only way we'll ever find out more about Tartarus, Shadows, Apathy Syndrome... everything." Akihiko cut in, "Maybe we can even stop it."

Kaguya looked uncomfortable suddenly and she couldn't keep her eyes from wandering to the floor. "Er, yes." She bit her lip. "... How long?"

"A few weeks, tops." Akihiko answered. "Will you do it?"

Kaguya stared up at Mitsuru, chewing rather than biting her lip now. She still looked indecisive. "I do not want what you want." She murmured. "But I suppose... a few weeks can't hurt. Would you like me to take Takeba with me as well?"

Mitsuru sighed and covered her eyes with her hand, seemingly exhausted. "I would prefer you did not, honestly, but it is your initiative. She has made several tentative forays into Tartarus with... another, not of our group, and so is determined to go against my judgement. Perhaps it would be safer for her in a larger group."

"Mmm." Kaguya, less perky now than she had been walking in, stood up and pulled off her rain coat. She folded it slowly over her arm and looked over at the stairs. "I will speak with her. Tell them to be ready for tonight, I will go to Tartarus with them now. Afterwards... whenever they ask. For two weeks." She nodded as if to affirm something to herself and started to leave without waiting for a response.

"Thank you Kaguya" Mitsuru said, opening her book again.

Akihiko looked out the window at the rain and no longer bothered trying to mend his boxing gloves again. Two weeks. Two more weeks before he could do anything again. He spent a long moment staring out the window. He thought of the market the other day and of Charla. He never really had figured out what had upset her, all she talked about was Mitsuru.

He stole a glance towards Mitsuru, who was engrossed in her book again and didn't seem to notice, and then looked back to the window. It was never straightforward with Charla. If she was talking about his dating Mitsuru then she wasn't talking about him, Mitsuru, or dating. Or at least not all three together. He tried to work it out for a little while, out of boredom more than anything, but then gave up and returned to his earlier hypothesis of Charla being completely incomprehensible. Regardless of whatever she had actually meant to say what she had said made sense, sort of.

"Hey Mitsuru." He said before he had completely realized what he was doing. "We should go see a movie."

"Not worried about a potential style implosion, per chance?" Mitsuru answered, not looking up from her book but smiling wryly none the less.

Akihiko laughed "Ah. She got to you too, huh?"

Mitsuru nodded a little, brushed a strand of hair out of her face and behind her ear. "Mmm. She assured me I would not be obliged to change as you had already promised to give up your sweater vest on my account, so we needn't worry about the implosion."

"Are you agreeing?" Akihiko asked, feeling more nervous than he sounded. Were they really having this conversation?

Mitsuru sighed and closed her book gently, for what seemed the millionth time this morning. It was her fault for trying to get something done in so public a place as the lounge. "I'm leaving Akihiko, you know that. And besides... "

"So for the rest of the year, why not?" Akihiko cut her off.

Mitsuru looked at him contemplatively, "... So you're proposing that at the end of the year we just forget everything and move on with our lives as if nothing had happened. No strings attached?"

"Maybe." Akihiko leaned back and put his gloves on the table. "But for now I'm offering to take you to the movies."

"Well not tonight, I'm obliged to go to Tartarus. But... perhaps, tomorrow?" Mitsuru tried to sound nonchalant but her face tinged red anyways.

"All right." Akihiko answered, wishing he hadn't put his gloves so far away as he now had nothing to look busy with.

Mitsuru nodded, smiled a little, and went back to her book which she would be able to quietly read uninterrupted until it came time to organize the team for Tartarus. 


	14. Lectured in Tartarus

Chapter 13

_Lectured in Tartarus_

Today I am lazy.

Disclaimer: _Own nothing._

(Minato's POV) 

Back to the impossible tower again. I slip my hands into my pockets and crane my neck up to see the top of the tower, silhouetted against the swollen moon. Always swollen. It sits in the dark green sky with something like a buoyant quality... like a bloated corpse in sewage water... I stare up at it a while longer. I suppose that would imply that the Dark Hour rots things. I glance down at my hands, also faintly greener than in reality, and imagine what might happen to them if I stayed as long in the Dark Hour as the moon did. It's nonsense though.

There's Yukari walking ahead of me with Kaguya. Yukari isn't saying anything but she looks calmer than the first time we came. Maybe because that nameless fear has a face now, if not a name. Maybe because Kaguya is here though I doubt Kaguya could handle Death alone. Still... It's good that Yukari has relaxed.

"You excited to be back?" Junpei asks from beside me.

"I don't know." I answer. What more can I say? We don't know what Tartarus is, except dangerous, or what exploring it will accomplish. Maybe answers. And then what? Is our intention to save the Lost? Destroy the Shadows? Can any of that even be accomplished? I guess that's where finding answers becomes important. Better that than just inaction.

Something seems to have annoyed Junpei. He fidgets with his hat and looks at his feet, mumbles something to himself. Before I devote much time to him, however, I notice that we've caught up to Mitsuru and her motorcycle at the entrance to Tartarus. She has her helmet tucked in the crook of her arm and she appears to have been waiting for us. She nods first to Kaguya and then to the rest of us, excepting Yukari.

"We must be careful," Kaguya warned "Time flows differently in Tartarus. Sometimes quicker, sometimes slower. It varies. It's an unstable place. Mitsuru, make sure to keep an eye on the time out here and tell us when an hour has passed. I will not spend more time within than is needful."

"Certainly, ah Kaguya. I wish for a SEES member to lead. They will need the experience. I would prefer your role to be that of guardian- to ensure they come to no serious harm while they act as an independent unit." Mitsuru says and Junpei perks right up.

Kaguya nods demurely and says nothing so Mitsuru turns her attention to us, "I spoke to Akihiko about this earlier and we have agreed that, as the last mission did not... go according to plan, we will allow Iori to attempt the leadership role."

Junpei pumps his fist up into the air and whoops, begins promising loudly and persistently that he's the right choice for the job and nearly hugs Mitsuru for joy. As he distracts the others I glance towards Yukari to see her reaction. I'm expecting exasperation or incredulity, she'll say 'Stupei? Ace Defective? Our glorious leader?' and Junpei bashing banter will ensue. However, she seems more or less uninterested and only looks on with her mouth firmly shut.

I don't mind, I guess. I look back and see that Mitsuru is watching me, presumably trying to gage my reaction. I shrug for her and smile a little to put her at ease. If I were in her position I would have done the same. Though... maybe not Junpei. Ideally Mitsuru but Akihiko would serve, perhaps even excel, when he healed properly.

As we enter Tartarus, leaving an uneasy Mitsuru behind us, Kaguya begins speaking. "You must trust them a great deal."

I look up, glance over at Junpei who returns the look with a shrug. "Yeah, I guess so." He says to Kaguya.

Yukari shakes her head "It's not trust. They have to be right. What other explanation is there?"

"You can't know without looking, this is true, but you must not let your mind be narrowed by their prejudices." Kaguya pulls her evoker from its holster.

"Wait... what are we talking about?" Junpei splutters.

"Nothing. Pay attention we're nearly there. I won't fight unless things get ugly. You, Iori, take point- you do remember that you're supposed to be leading this operation right?" Kaguya moves to the back of the group as they reach the top of the stairs and enter the first block.

Re-excited about the prospect of leading, Junpei quickly moves to the front and readies his sword. I can't help but smile a little, seeing him so serious. I've not known him for a long time but I have noticed his tendency to not take things seriously. I've known people like him before. Usually it's a studying thing, mentality being 'If I don't try then whatever mark I get is not actually representative of my abilities' but it can apply much more generally too; 'If I don't try then I don't ever have to know my limits... I will never have to acknowledge what I can't do'. Maybe we're all like this a little.

Tartarus... I look around at the greenish walls and peeling black and white tile linoleum floor. There are spatters of fresh blood here and there, sickeningly red. I wonder why it looks like this. Cheap diner meets nondescript institution. And the smell... I'm reminded of a trip I once took to the west. It was in the southern United States in the middle of summer. We didn't speak English but my little sister was studying it and, young though she was, she delighted in ordering our food for us and incorrectly translating signs- who were we to complain if sometimes we got the wrong food or got hopelessly lost? I'd never seen her smile so much in my life- solemn, whiny little creature that she normally was. We were at a fast food restaurant, mostly for the air conditioning as it was a sweltering 40 degrees outside, and my sister and I were sitting at a greasy, unwashed booth, waiting for my parents to bring the food back. Ahead of us sat an old couple, their wrinkled skin bathed in sweat that- with the aid of the overbright light above them- gave them a certain watery glow. And so... there it was... that smell... grease, medications, and old person BO.

As I think about it I can't help but feel that the temperature is changing gradually from the chilly night air outside to that too-hot, sticky 40 degrees. But not so bad... How can it be changing? It is only a feeling.

Conversation has tapered off completely and we're moving with whatever stealth we can muster. I can't help but continue to be distracted by our surroundings. The more I think about it the more it reminds me of that day. I'm drawn back to reality by Junpei's soft intake of breath. Around the corner is a shadow with it's back to us. Beside me Yukari steps round the corner with an arrow already notched. Without waiting for Junpei's confirmation she lets it fly and the shadow wails on contact.

As it turns around and fixes us with a pair of angry red eyes its inky body melts away and begins to reform. I rush to Yukari's side, she has already notched another arrow, and reach instinctively for my evoker rather than the sword at my belt.

Three smaller shadows form, their faces covered by reddish masks adorned by roman numerals. One wails as Yukari lets fly another arrow. Its mask cracks on impact and the arrow lodges itself in the creatures brow. Its companions begin to advance on us and I see Junpei out of the corner of my eye rush towards them with his sword held straight out by his side.

I lift my evoker to my head and close my eyes. I imagine Orpheus but am reminded of that other creature that I summoned once... Is it still in there? I pull the trigger and one of the advancing shadows is engulfed in flame. I don't wait to see what will happen to it.

The shadow with the arrow in its brow has disappeared- did it run? Or is that what happens when they die?- and as I look over Junpei drops his sword onto the remaining shadow, cleaving it essentially in two. He remains standing there, as if still unsure of himself, and then straightens and pulls his sword- whose blade is now covered in inky blood- back close to his body, resting its tip against the floor. "Not bad, huh?" He winks, grins and gives a thumbs up.

"Your fighting abilities are adequate for this floor." Kaguya answers, seemingly morphing out of the darkness behind me. She has put her evoker away and now stands with arms crossed. "But your purpose here is not primarily for fighting. That is a means, not an end. What did you notice?"

Junpei's jaw drops initially but he regains his composure and fiddles with his sword uncomfortably.

"They disappear when we kill them." Yukari says thoughtfully, her eyes on the charred spot on the floor. "Even though they bleed."

"Good. They are able to impact the physical world- bleeding, occupying space, manipulating mass- when they are alive but at the moment of death whatever it is that makes them physically real ends and they lose both their ability to impact the world around them and their physical bodies." Kaguya strides forward and crouches before a pool of blood. "The blood will disappear soon too."

Junpei blinks, "Er... why? How?"

"You need to decide if that's important." Kaguya shrugs. "For now, we should move on. There's still a lot of ground to cover."

We continue on at much the same pace. Every once in a while Kaguya would interrupt us, bring our attention to some detail that seemed otherwise irrelevant. Junpei proved adept at detecting and avoiding shadows, whereas Yukari nearly always managed to ambush them. It is so different from the last time we were here... we are now the hunters and not the prey.

We have not gone too far before Junpei is injured. It's not serious. He had rushed into the fight to try and kill a wounded, fleeing shadow, and was careless. One of its companions reached out for him and placed a heavy blow against his kneecap, sending him sprawling. It clawed at him again and cut the skin but before it could do any real damage I brought it down.

After the battle Yukari was approaching Junpei to heal him but Kaguya waved her back. "This is important." she murmured as she knelt by his side. Wordlessly she reached forward and pulled up Junpei's pant leg until his knee was exposed. The skin was already turning that sickly yellowy purple associated with bruising.

Junpei looks highly suspicious "Why do I get the feeling that- OW! HEY! What'd you do that for?"

Kaguya had tapped, not gently, Junpeis knee with the butt of her evoker. "Notice the physical signs of bruising and the patients reaction to aggravation. The wound was caused by light bludgeoning damage."

"In other words it's completely normal." I say quietly.

Junpei looks exasperated "Great, so we can stop poking it now?"

Kaguya points the evoker to her heart and pulls the trigger, her persona- whatever it is- emitting a blinding light. When my vision refocuses Kaguya is once again holding her evoker loosely at her side and Junpei's knee is void of bruising. Kaguya bangs the butt of her evoker on the place where the bruise used to be and Junpei shrugs.

"Completely healed." Kaguya says, "Now..." She pulls out a black, heavy looking baton and rests it against the spot where the bruise used to be, tapping pensively. "Are you paying attention?" Suddenly, she cracks the baton hard against Junpei's knee- causing him to howl out in pain.

"You HIT me! Did you see that? She hit me! This is abuse!" Junpei bites on his tongue to keep from crying and can't help but touch his knee gingerly. Kaguya swats his hand away and, through the red, a bruise is forming again.

"Try to heal it." She instructs Yukari.

Yukari frowns but obliges. As her persona fades I lean in to see what has happened.

"It's still there." Yukari exclaims, surprised. "S-should I try again?"

Kaguya shakes her head "You can't heal it with your persona." Instead she summons her own persona and we are again blinded. This time the bruise is gone.

"Why didn't it work when I did it?" Yukari asked, kneeling down beside Kaguya.

Junpei pulls his pant leg down and scoots away from them a little bit, eyeing the baton suspiciously. "We are done experimenting aren't we?"

"There is a difference between the wounds inflicted upon you by a shadow- or a persona- and by a person. Although both physically real and nearly identical in result there is in fact a difference. You will learn how to heal wounds inflicted by people in time. But... Don't ever get shot." Kaguya stood up slowly, returning the baton to some hidden holster under her jacket.

"Why not?" Yukari also stood.

"Understand what the difference is between the wound inflicted on you by a shadow and a wound inflicted by a person during the Dark Hour and then I'll tell you." Kaguya smoothed out her skirt and then shrugged a little, "At least. I'll tell you what I understand. Maybe I'm not right."

I hear a click and then the faintly eerie white noise filtering through my headphones. "It's almost been an hour." Mitsuru's warbled voice blares into my ears, followed by more white noise, another click and silence.

Junpei gets to his feet and looks over at Kaguya, "We can't stay longer?"

Kaguya smiles a little and shrugs again "I won't. But what you do is up to you, leader."

"Right!" Junpei exclaims "We're leaving, team! Onward!" He heads off in the direction of the access point, Yukari tailing him silently. I wait for Kaguya and then walk beside her.

"How do you know so much?" I ask quietly. "Mitsuru and Akihiko don't."

Kaguya sighs a little and runs a hand through her hair. "You have an interesting power Minato." She says, ignoring my question. "I sense in you more potential for power than in any creature that I have ever come across. But potential and realization are two very different things. And nothing comes without a price. What will become of you, I wonder."

I look at my feet quietly. "Must things become of me?"

Kaguya laughed a little and smiled at me. "That's what it means to be alive."

We travel back to the dorm in relative silence- along the way the Dark Hour fades to nothing and that oppressive green tinge dissipates. It's cool out in the night air and it smells more of fish than that southern American restaurant. I think of my little sister again- Hotaru. I open my cell phone and scroll down to her number but I flip the phone closed again before I can talk myself into it. What would I say? 'I remember the old person BO and how are you, taking care of yourself?'

It won't change the distance.


End file.
